Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always
Speaker 1: by my trust in colleague Weston Hodquits, and I'm glad
Speaker 1: you're here because when I saw your social media this morning,
Speaker 1: I wasn't sure if you were going to make it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I wasn't going to So for anybody that isn't aware,
Speaker 2: isn't on Twitter, I tweeted at the Packers account like
Speaker 2: any true professional does, telling them, Hey, I'm taking PTO
Speaker 2: it's too cold. Tell Anna from our social team. She
Speaker 2: has to step in with spoff which honestly would probably
Speaker 2: improve the quality of the show.
Speaker 1: Well, I don't know about that. I am glad you're
Speaker 1: I'm Diana as a party star. But you aren't wrong
Speaker 1: that it was extremely tempting to stay home today when
Speaker 1: we woke up to the temperatures that we did. But
Speaker 1: that being said, it won't be quite this cold in
Speaker 1: Seattle on Sunday night, when the Packers take on the
Speaker 1: Seahawks in a big NFC game with lots of playoff implications.
Speaker 1: So let's dive into breaking down the Seahawks a little bit. Wes,
Speaker 1: We've We've talked about various Packers opponents this season who
Speaker 1: have sort of ridden a roller coaster here and there
Speaker 1: through the course of the year. This one might be
Speaker 1: the most dramatic roller coaster of all.
Speaker 3: Seahawks.
Speaker 1: They hire Mike McDonald as a new head coach to
Speaker 1: take over for Pete Carroll, and they come out like gangbusters.
Speaker 1: They're three and oh, and everybody's like, all right, you know,
Speaker 1: the Seattle Seahawks are back, you know, et cetera, et cetera. Well,
Speaker 1: then they lose five out of six, they drop to
Speaker 1: four and five, and everybody's wondering just where the Seahawks
Speaker 1: are headed. But then in a big NFC West Division
Speaker 1: road game at San Francisco, final couple of minutes, Gino
Speaker 1: Smith takes the Seahawks down the field. He scrambles with
Speaker 1: I believe it was twelve seconds left for a thirteen
Speaker 1: yard touchdown run to the front pylon and Seattle gets
Speaker 1: a big road win at San Francisco, and that come
Speaker 1: from behind victory has has catapulted them now to what
Speaker 1: is a four game winning streak this which has included
Speaker 1: two victories over division rival Arizona as well to put
Speaker 1: Seattle in command of the NFC West with an eight
Speaker 1: and five record. Whatever was going on through that month
Speaker 1: and a half the middle portion of the season when
Speaker 1: they lost five of six, Seattle seems to have figured
Speaker 1: something out, because this is a team that is on
Speaker 1: a roll.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they definitely are mic and this is almost there
Speaker 2: in so many ways, a very similar carbon copy what
Speaker 2: Green Bay has done obviously in a less competitive although
Speaker 2: still competitive but not a successful division. Yeah, in the
Speaker 2: NFC West, where this team goes into the by and
Speaker 2: there's a lot of questions there, a lot of questions
Speaker 2: about Geno Smith throwing a lot of interceptions. You know,
Speaker 2: their run game is not really getting anywhere. They have
Speaker 2: a lot of passing yards, but they've been forced to
Speaker 2: be in a lot of shootouts too, and a lot
Speaker 2: of games that they kind of came up short in
Speaker 2: where they're having to try. You know, it was the
Speaker 2: Lions scored forty two, the Giants scored twenty nine, the
Speaker 2: forty nine Ers got thirty six on him, Buffalo had
Speaker 2: thirty one. Defensively, for McDonald's background, it was it was
Speaker 2: a tough.
Speaker 3: Go of it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, But then they get to the bye week, they
Speaker 2: edge past the forty nine ers. They don't run the
Speaker 2: ball particularly well against Arizona, but they win sixteen to six.
Speaker 2: They were able to get a win that they needed
Speaker 2: over the Jets, and then they run the ball incredibly
Speaker 2: well against the Cardinals during their rematch two games within
Speaker 2: three weeks. So the biggest thing that I boiled this
Speaker 2: down to is when they protect the football. I mean,
Speaker 2: this team can play with anybody in the league. It's
Speaker 2: just a matter of whether or not they can overcome
Speaker 2: the turnover differentials. And if I may, I know I'm
Speaker 2: talking a lot here, but here at the bottom ten
Speaker 2: t teams in the National Football League in net differential,
Speaker 2: in turnover margin, Okay, Vegas, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Cleveland, Atlanta, New
Speaker 2: York Giants, Dallas, New England, Carolina, all those teams, there's
Speaker 2: quite a bit of parody there in terms of commonalities.
Speaker 2: And then it's Kansas City in Seattle. So it shows
Speaker 2: you even though they're minus four on the season in
Speaker 2: turnover differential, tied with Kansas City for twenty second in
Speaker 2: that area, this team can still find ways to win
Speaker 2: and they are very dangerous.
Speaker 1: Well, in what I wrote about yesterday after we talked
Speaker 1: with Jordan Love in the locker room of the usual
Speaker 1: Wednesday post practice media scrum at his locker. You look
Speaker 1: at this current four game winning streak for the Seahawks,
Speaker 1: and when you look at things on the turnover side,
Speaker 1: this defense has intercepted five passes during the four game streak.
Speaker 1: They have eleven interceptions on the year, and five of
Speaker 1: those eleven have come in the last four games, and
Speaker 1: two of them one against the Cardinals and one against
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers and the Jets. Two of them run back
Speaker 1: for touchdown at huge moments, the one against the Cardinals.
Speaker 1: The first one, it was a close one score game.
Speaker 1: Arizona had a fourth and one at the Seattle forty
Speaker 1: yard line and Kyler Murray throws a pick six and
Speaker 1: complete basically was the play that decided the game. And
Speaker 1: then the following week against the Jets, the Jets are
Speaker 1: actually up by fourteen points. It's twenty one to seven,
Speaker 1: and the Jets are headed in for more points to
Speaker 1: make it a three score game in the second quarter
Speaker 1: and the big defensive lineman, the Seahawks sack leader Leonard Williams,
Speaker 1: the former Jet or, picks off picks off a slant
Speaker 1: pass by Aaron Rodgers and ends up taking it ninety
Speaker 1: two yards to the house. Completely flips that game around.
Speaker 1: So instead of the Jets being up three scores, the
Speaker 1: Seahawks suddenly cut it to one score and then they
Speaker 1: finished the comeback in the second half and ended up
Speaker 1: winning that game. What the Seahawks defense is doing with
Speaker 1: the takeaways right now has been has been a real catalyst,
Speaker 1: has been the real fuel in part for this four
Speaker 1: game winning.
Speaker 2: Streak, and it definitely has and it's because of players
Speaker 2: like Williams too, who's kind of been a very consistent
Speaker 2: performer throughout the course of his career in some ways
Speaker 2: kind of a journeyman. It's been in a few different
Speaker 2: stops now, but you look at the stats last year
Speaker 2: he was okay fine, and then this year twenty quarterback
Speaker 2: hits leads them in that category seven and a half sacks,
Speaker 2: as you mentioned, a very impressive touchdown there as well.
Speaker 2: These guys they can get after it a little bit.
Speaker 2: Julian Love on the back end is a safety I've
Speaker 2: always had a lot of admiration for. I think is
Speaker 2: sort of carried on that tradition of what's been with
Speaker 2: the Seattle secondary and that defense. Kobe Bryant has the
Speaker 2: other touchdown off the interception as well. So again, when
Speaker 2: you look at how they're fundamentally built and structured, it's
Speaker 2: a good scheme. It's a smart scheme and have guys
Speaker 2: that can implement it. And certainly, even though we look
Speaker 2: at their relatively pedestrian and the statistics because of some
Speaker 2: of the things that happened during the first half of
Speaker 2: the season, it's a team that definitely has been on
Speaker 2: the come up here since the bye week.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and when looking looking at things on the offensive side,
Speaker 1: you mentioned they got their running game going last week.
Speaker 1: In the rematch against Arizona, Zach Charbonay ends up rushing
Speaker 1: for one hundred and I believe it was one hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty yard.
Speaker 3: Yeah, right around there he play.
Speaker 1: Being a fifty one yard touchdown run where he broke free.
Speaker 1: He's also been used out of the backfield as a receiver,
Speaker 1: certainly a capable substitute for Kenneth Walker, the third.
Speaker 2: Just ask my fantasy football team.
Speaker 1: Walker has been kind of in and out of the
Speaker 1: lineup with injuries. His status seems to be if he
Speaker 1: yet again this week. But aside from maybe some of
Speaker 1: those fits and starts in the running game. This offense
Speaker 1: is built around Gino Smith as a quarterback who he's
Speaker 1: put up some press of numbers. He's completing almost seventy
Speaker 1: percent of his passes. But at the same time you
Speaker 1: look at the fact that he's been sacked forty times
Speaker 1: and he's thrown twelve interceptions. So it's sort of lived
Speaker 1: by Geno, die by Gino, right. I mean, there's a
Speaker 1: lot that they rely on with regard to their quarterback,
Speaker 1: and if you can if you can get him uncomfortable,
Speaker 1: if you can disrupt him a little bit, you might
Speaker 1: be able to get the kind of mistake out of
Speaker 1: him that can turn the tide in the football game.
Speaker 2: I don't do one last look. I don't do some
Speaker 2: of the overarching theme stories that you did. But when
Speaker 2: I was going through the statistics in preparation for this
Speaker 2: award winning show, one thing that really jumped off the
Speaker 2: page to me. So the Packers have been one way
Speaker 2: or another, they have been one of the best teams
Speaker 2: of protecting their quarterback.
Speaker 3: This year.
Speaker 2: The quarterbacks have done the best job of being able
Speaker 2: to evade sacks. Packers have had sixteen sacks this season. Okay,
Speaker 2: allowed for ninety three yards. The forty sacks jump off
Speaker 2: the page to you. Did you see how many yards
Speaker 2: Gino Smith has lost on those forty sacks?
Speaker 1: No, actually I didn't.
Speaker 2: I want to make sure I get this right, So
Speaker 2: I don't want to because it's it's over two hundred
Speaker 2: it's two hundred and seventy two yards.
Speaker 3: Oh my god, I've been lost on those forty sacks.
Speaker 2: So when you're talking about negative yardage plays, that's that's
Speaker 2: a lot of negative yardage that's coming.
Speaker 1: That's an average of almost seven yards per sack.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like why he's getting deep in his hitch. Yeah,
Speaker 2: because Gino's not the most I mean, he can run
Speaker 2: a little bit, but it's like.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know that isn't there? There is a difference
Speaker 1: between those sacks that are just one or two yards
Speaker 1: behind the line of scrimmage, when the quarterback can kind
Speaker 1: of scramp, yeah, try to get out of it, and
Speaker 1: when you get sacked eight nine yards behind the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage. Big difference there.
Speaker 3: So why do I bring all this up? Mike? Ask
Speaker 3: me why I brought that all up?
Speaker 2: Why did you bring this up with because last week
Speaker 2: he was not sacked last week. They ran the ball
Speaker 2: as well as they have all season. This is the
Speaker 2: twenty seventh ranked rushing offense in the NFL. Kenneth Walker
Speaker 2: was a big time investment for them. That was the
Speaker 2: guy they sort of were building things around. But it
Speaker 2: just seems like every time Zach Charbonau gets the opportunity,
Speaker 2: he takes advantage of it. And they ran the ball
Speaker 2: as well as he did all season, one hundred and
Speaker 2: seventy six rushing yards, five point seven yards per carry,
Speaker 2: two touchdowns on thirty one attempts. I believe that was
Speaker 2: the first time they've had more rushing attempts in a
Speaker 2: game this year than Gino smith Is attempted passes. He
Speaker 2: was twenty four though, of thirty in that game, with
Speaker 2: a touchdown in one hundred and ten passer rating, no interceptions,
Speaker 2: no sacks. Balance is the point I'm trying to make. Ye,
Speaker 2: It's something the Packers have been trying to get to
Speaker 2: as well with Jordan Love and being able to utilize
Speaker 2: the run game to sort of set things up with
Speaker 2: your passing offense. Gino Smith. As we've said time in
Speaker 2: time again, I don't know if there's been a better
Speaker 2: story in the last decade in the National Football League
Speaker 2: than Gino Smith. This is a guy that was left
Speaker 2: for dead. He things didn't work out with the Jets.
Speaker 2: He basically moves across MetLife Stadium. He's a backup there
Speaker 2: with the Giants for a few seasons.
Speaker 3: I believe he.
Speaker 2: Ends up finally ending up in Seattle during COVID he
Speaker 2: backs up Russell Wilson, and then I don't know if
Speaker 2: you remember that, but when they made that trade with
Speaker 2: Wilson and Denver, everybody's like, Okay, well, Drew Locke is
Speaker 2: going to be the guy in.
Speaker 1: Seattle, right right, that was the assumption.
Speaker 2: Geno Smith beats him out during training camp. Yeah, and
Speaker 2: everybody's sort of laughing at the Seahawks, like what are
Speaker 2: you doing? This journeyman quarterback is going to be the guy.
Speaker 2: In credit to first off, John Schneider, but then also
Speaker 2: Pete Carroll for making that move. Yep, they stuck with
Speaker 2: this guy. And yeah, there's been some some inconsistencies, there's
Speaker 2: been some interceptions, but Gino Smith has proved he still
Speaker 2: is the player that everybody thought he was coming out
Speaker 2: in twenty thirteen. And it sometimes development takes a little
Speaker 2: bit longer and in his case, obviously it's been paying
Speaker 2: off really well, especially if you ask their trio receivers. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Well, And I wouldn't claim to have watched a ton
Speaker 1: of Seattle Seahawks football this season or even last season
Speaker 1: for that matter, But during this renaissance of Gino Smith's career,
Speaker 1: when I have watched the Seahawks, what I have seen
Speaker 1: from Gino Smith, for better for worse is a fearless
Speaker 1: quarterback one hundred percent. Well. He will push the ball
Speaker 1: down the field at any time in any situation. He
Speaker 1: has Jackson Smith, Jigba, he has dk Metcalf. These are
Speaker 1: guys that will can and will threatened defensees down the field.
Speaker 1: And Gino Smith isn't afraid to test his arm and
Speaker 1: to test a defense with uh with trying to push
Speaker 1: the ball for those explosive plays. And yeah he does.
Speaker 1: He does throw his share of interceptions. And that's partly
Speaker 1: where the sacks come from too, because the deep developing
Speaker 1: you know, downfield routes you gotta have, you gotta have time,
Speaker 1: you have to take a full seven step drop, and
Speaker 1: if those routes can't develop, if you can't get protected,
Speaker 1: then then that's where the sacks happen. But this this dude,
Speaker 1: this dude's a fearless quarterback. He's and maybe it's just
Speaker 1: because of everything he went through earlier in his career
Speaker 1: that he just decided, well, if I get another chance,
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna let it rip. Yeah, you know, And
Speaker 1: and it's provided a fair on a success for the
Speaker 1: Seattle Seahawks, for a team that you know, wasn't really
Speaker 1: sure where it was going in terms of who's the
Speaker 1: next franchise quarterback going to be after Russell Wilson, Gino
Speaker 1: Smith has stepped in and won his share football game.
Speaker 2: The whole idea, I think was basically, we got to
Speaker 2: get rid of this contract, We got to go in
Speaker 2: a different direction. It wasn't they were struggling, they were
Speaker 2: missing playoffs with Russell, and then they make this change,
Speaker 2: and I thought in a lot of ways, it breathes
Speaker 2: new life into this organization, being able to sort and
Speaker 2: it's a guy that you know, players have seemingly really
Speaker 2: rallied around during his time here. You mentioned JSN obviously
Speaker 2: DK Metcalf. I think Tyler Lockett has done some good
Speaker 2: things this year. He's been kind of up and down
Speaker 2: throughout the course of his career. They have the weapons
Speaker 2: that you need to be able to move the football.
Speaker 2: So the challenge for Green Bay is one seeing exactly
Speaker 2: who's going to be out there on Sunday. We saw
Speaker 2: on Wednesday's practice Jyr Alexander was a full participant. We'll
Speaker 2: see if you can continue to hit those markers to
Speaker 2: potentially be out there, that would be huge for them,
Speaker 2: especially with how banged up they are right now on
Speaker 2: the back end, which also affects their depth and the
Speaker 2: slot for the nickel. So, you know, a guy like
Speaker 2: Jaiere would be a great time to have him back.
Speaker 2: I thought Keyshawn Nixon for everything the Packers have asked
Speaker 2: him to do as of late. I thought he had
Speaker 2: one of his better performances in Detroit as well. But
Speaker 2: just figuring out how to contain that plethora of weapons
Speaker 2: is going to be just absolutely critical for Green Bay's
Speaker 2: defense and going into a place that historically has been
Speaker 2: very difficult to play in. They're three and four there
Speaker 2: this year.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they've lost four home games this year, so yeah,
Speaker 1: they've only lost once on the road, but they've lost
Speaker 1: four times at home, which is not a typical Seattle record.
Speaker 2: No, I mean, they typically that has historically been one
Speaker 2: of the tougher places to play. But the thing that
Speaker 2: Green Bay's biggest challenge is it's going to be trying
Speaker 2: to kit Seahattle to fall back into some of those
Speaker 2: bad habits earlier the season and find ways to take
Speaker 2: advantage of it.
Speaker 1: Well, before we get to our Keys to Victory, we
Speaker 1: should update where things are with the Packers on the
Speaker 1: health front, because on balance, it's been some pretty good
Speaker 1: news this week. Both Romeo Dobbs and Evan Williams, the
Speaker 1: receiver and the rookie safety. They are back in practice
Speaker 1: though as of right now, as of the taping of
Speaker 1: this show, they are still in the concussion protocol. They
Speaker 1: have not been fully cleared yet from the concussion protocol,
Speaker 1: but they are practicing and Romeo Dobbs was a full
Speaker 1: participant in Wednesday's practice, so that's definitely definitely worth noting.
Speaker 1: As you said, JayR Alexander is actually not even on
Speaker 1: the injury report because he was a full participant. Did
Speaker 1: the Packers actually list him?
Speaker 3: They did?
Speaker 2: Oh, he is what happens as Mike saying, when Matt
Speaker 2: Lafleur goes up there, he will list the guys who
Speaker 2: are limited or the guys that were DMPs. It is
Speaker 2: not rare for them to still have guys who are
Speaker 2: full participation but are still listed with whatever injury that
Speaker 2: they might still be getting treatment for. But the fact
Speaker 2: that to your point, when MATTL. Fluer went up at
Speaker 2: the podium on Wednesday, the first thing I think Jason
Speaker 2: Wilde said is you.
Speaker 3: Didn say JayR.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you didn't mention JayR because Jay finally was a
Speaker 1: full guy. Yeah. So Alexander, Alexander is a full participant
Speaker 1: in practice. We'll see where things go with that. Another cornerback,
Speaker 1: Corey Ballantine, is back in practice after missing the game
Speaker 1: in Detroit and then tight end Luke Musgrave being designated
Speaker 1: to return from injured reserve. He has had a long layoff,
Speaker 1: a very very complicated or I guess I should say
Speaker 1: significant ankle injury from early in the season that required surgery.
Speaker 1: But he is now back at practice, so he's been
Speaker 1: designated to return from injured perserve. I would not expect
Speaker 1: him at all to be playing in Seattle after this
Speaker 1: long of a layoff, but the ramp up now with
Speaker 1: Musgrave is starting to where the Packers can hopefully get
Speaker 1: him back. The one guy on the fifty three man
Speaker 1: roster not practicing on Wednesday was nickelback Javon Bullard, the
Speaker 1: rookie out of Georgia. So if he's not able to
Speaker 1: come back this week, and Matt Lafleur had said I
Speaker 1: believe it was on Monday, he said they're considering Bullard
Speaker 1: week to week with his ankle injury from late in
Speaker 1: the Detroit game. So there's going to be some gonna
Speaker 1: probably have to be some shifting around in the secondary
Speaker 1: if if Bullard can't go this week. But as I said,
Speaker 1: on balance, the health news is looking pretty good for
Speaker 1: Green Bay here as the stretch run approaches.
Speaker 2: In the name you, there's a lot of names to mention,
Speaker 2: so I'm not faulting you for this. Oh yes, and
Speaker 2: and edgerd Cooper is And that's where I was going
Speaker 2: to take this thing. Edger and Cooper being back at
Speaker 2: practice is a big thing. One of the aspects of
Speaker 2: Insider Inbox I really concentrated on this earlier this week
Speaker 2: was somebody had asked me, you know, basically, out of
Speaker 2: this this rookie class, you know, who have you enjoyed
Speaker 2: or who's been the biggest surprise, whatever you want to
Speaker 2: call it, And I said, I don't think you can
Speaker 2: necessarily label a surprise because if you and I were
Speaker 2: standing in here, sitting in here with Larry Mccaer and
Speaker 2: doing our draft preview show, and I remember saying, I
Speaker 2: was like this guy from Texas A and M. And again,
Speaker 2: I'm no scout, I'm nobody. But that's just how excited
Speaker 2: I was about edgren Crooper. We see him have eight
Speaker 2: sacks his senior year there, his last year in college,
Speaker 2: and now you're watching him play within this defense. Edrin
Speaker 2: Cooper is more than his listed position. The Packers have
Speaker 2: depth at inside linebacker. Edgren Cooper is proving to me
Speaker 2: he's a legitimate defensive weapon. The way that they can
Speaker 2: blitz him, the way he can play coverage. We've seen
Speaker 2: him being able to trail guys down the seam as well.
Speaker 2: He has all the tools, and I think Green Bay
Speaker 2: has really missed him. Not to say the other inside
Speaker 2: linebackers haven't stepped up. I thought Kay Walker played some
Speaker 2: really good football. Obviously, isaamh McDuffie, what he did against
Speaker 2: Miami commendable, but Edrin Cooper is just a different type
Speaker 2: of football player In some ways. It almost reminds me
Speaker 2: of that Clay Matthews type effect, where this guy not
Speaker 2: that he's rushing off the edge, but you can just
Speaker 2: utilize him in so many different ways. That would be
Speaker 2: absolutely huge if they could get him back for Seattle.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're right. Cooper has missed the last three games
Speaker 1: with a hamstring injury. I believe he injured the hamstring
Speaker 1: in Chicago in practice.
Speaker 3: He heard it, that's right.
Speaker 1: It was after the Chicago Yeah, it was. That's when
Speaker 1: practice the following week. He's missed the last three games.
Speaker 1: And I agree with what you said about Cooper in
Speaker 1: terms of uh.
Speaker 3: I I look at it.
Speaker 1: I look at a guy like Cooper because because with
Speaker 1: his injuries and being in and out of the lineup,
Speaker 1: he hasn't become a full time player yet as a
Speaker 1: rookie second round draft pick. But what he is and
Speaker 1: hopefully what he can be for the Packers and for
Speaker 1: defensive coordinator Jeff Haffley down the stretch is a chess piece. Yes,
Speaker 1: offensively because you can use him in certain roles you mentioned,
Speaker 1: whether it's whether it's as a blitzer, whether it's sort
Speaker 1: of as that that Tampa two linebacker. Who can you
Speaker 1: know who can cover the middle of the field. He's
Speaker 1: got different roles that he can play, and he becomes
Speaker 1: a he becomes a potential chess piece for for Halflee
Speaker 1: in terms of how the Packers want to throw some
Speaker 1: change ups and do some different things defensively over the
Speaker 1: course of a game from start to filing.
Speaker 2: And you don't know when he's going to be out there.
Speaker 2: That's the neat thing about being able to use him
Speaker 2: as a rookie. There's going to be a time here
Speaker 2: in the next couple seasons, maybe next year, where he's
Speaker 2: going to be an every down player.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but right now that's coming at some point.
Speaker 2: Opposing offenses, even on third downs, you don't know necessarily
Speaker 2: if you're going to see him or not. But when
Speaker 2: he's out there, man, he makes a difference. I also
Speaker 2: just want to quickly mention about Luke Musgrave before we
Speaker 2: transition over to previewing next week. This upcoming week of games,
Speaker 2: I had a funny moment with Musgrave where I was
Speaker 2: asking him during our little group scrum when he's talking
Speaker 2: to the media on Wednesday about him playing through the
Speaker 2: ankle injury, because, as it turns out, that badly turned
Speaker 2: ankle that he had happened like at the beginning of
Speaker 2: the Minnesota game, and yet he finished out the rest
Speaker 2: of the game. He played twenty five snaps. And I
Speaker 2: had said to him, I was like, is that just
Speaker 2: adrenaline carrying you through? And he said, well, it was
Speaker 2: like the most Luke Musgrave comment ever. He's like, well,
Speaker 2: you know, Payne really isn't a huge thing for me,
Speaker 2: Like that doesn't really bother me. And if you think back, well, yeah,
Speaker 2: he had the lacerated spleen that he played through against
Speaker 2: kidney charger kidney last year, ascerated kid kidney last year,
Speaker 2: and like the things that this guy has gone through.
Speaker 2: What the issue was for him though, is there was
Speaker 2: too much instability because of the tendon that he injured
Speaker 2: the ankle. He probably could have found a way to
Speaker 2: deal with the pain, but it was just he wasn't
Speaker 2: going to be he wasn't gonna be able to build
Speaker 2: his base off of it. Yeah, that's why doctor Robert
Speaker 2: Anderson end up performing the surgery. He misses, you know,
Speaker 2: the last two and a half months. But you get
Speaker 2: him back down the stretch here and he said he's
Speaker 2: open to whatever role they have for him if it's
Speaker 2: a limited role. He understands Ben Simm's been playing all year. Obviously,
Speaker 2: Tuckerkraft has been one of the best tight ends in
Speaker 2: the league this year, but even being able to sprinkle
Speaker 2: him into the offense here down the stretch with what
Speaker 2: he can provide in the middle of the field, I
Speaker 2: think that could be another chess piece as well.
Speaker 3: That could also open up some.
Speaker 2: Opportunities for Jaden Reid, you know, in some of those
Speaker 2: slot packages and crossers.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see how this
Speaker 1: evolves now down the stretch, these last four regular season
Speaker 1: games and then hopefully into the playoffs, and just how
Speaker 1: how the Packers end up reincorporating some of these guys
Speaker 1: who have been been injured and on the shelf, so
Speaker 1: to speak, as they hopefully get healthy and get back
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Speaker 1: real quickly, we talked a lot with regard to the
Speaker 1: Seahawks in this upcoming matchup. What is at the top
Speaker 1: of your list in terms of the key to victory
Speaker 1: for green Bay.
Speaker 3: I'll tell you this, Mike.
Speaker 2: I feel like the green Bay Packers run defense has
Speaker 2: really come on. And I don't want to keep parrotting myself,
Speaker 2: but I mean the fact that green Bay in these
Speaker 2: last three games have allowed three points zero yards per carry.
Speaker 2: You're going up against a run offense that has struggled
Speaker 2: this season. Again, charbonad that fifty one yard touchdown, that
Speaker 2: wasn't just the big play in that game. That's their
Speaker 2: longest run of the season to this point. If you
Speaker 2: can take away the run, whether it's Walker, whether it's Charbonnay,
Speaker 2: whether it's Shawn Alexander out there, if you can take
Speaker 2: that away and put this thing in Gino Smith's hands.
Speaker 2: Not to say that Gino still can't throw for four
Speaker 2: hundred yards, but you saw last week what happens when
Speaker 2: they are balanced on offense and how that can dictate
Speaker 2: the game. They overpowered the Arizona Cardinals, a team that
Speaker 2: three weeks ago was leading that division and was looking
Speaker 2: like a world beater itself. They have been able to
Speaker 2: take this thing back in the NFC West and what
Speaker 2: has been a wide open division all season long. Yep,
Speaker 2: they got off to a slow start, they rallied. I
Speaker 2: think the run offense has had a big reason to
Speaker 2: do for that. If you can take that away, be
Speaker 2: able to get off Gino Smith, get some sex, get
Speaker 2: some turnovers, I think that's your paths to victory. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And I think this one because I think the Packers
Speaker 1: are going to do just fine against the run with
Speaker 1: Seattle based on what they've done the last three weeks
Speaker 1: against Christian McCaffrey, against Devon A. Chann and Raheem Moster,
Speaker 1: and against David Montgomery and Jamier Gibbs. I think against
Speaker 1: some pretty darn good, dangerous running backs in this league,
Speaker 1: the Packers have have done pretty well against the run.
Speaker 1: So to me, this game just comes down to how
Speaker 1: much can you disrupt Gino Smith? And you can. You
Speaker 1: just cannot let him get comfortable, because if he gets
Speaker 1: into a groove and he gets confident and he wants
Speaker 1: and he's feeling really good about challenging you down the field,
Speaker 1: he becomes a really, really dangerous quarterback I think, and
Speaker 1: I don't mean to ignore everything on the offensive side
Speaker 1: of the ball. For Green Bay, You're gonna have to
Speaker 1: deal with the crowd noise. This is gonna be you know,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a raucous environment. The Packers have talked
Speaker 1: about how they thought maybe the Lions were getting a
Speaker 1: little bit of a jump on the silent count last
Speaker 1: Thursday at Ford Field, so they might make some adjustments
Speaker 1: with regard to that to help out the offense a
Speaker 1: little bit, particularly the offensive line. As far as getting
Speaker 1: off at the snap, I think I think the Packers
Speaker 1: offensively are going to be fine as long as they
Speaker 1: can break this interception streak that the Seahawks defense is on,
Speaker 1: as long as Jordan Love can keep his own interception
Speaker 1: free streak going. So for me, the focus is just
Speaker 1: on don't let Gino Smith get comfortable, disrupt him and
Speaker 1: create the mistake or two throughout the course of the
Speaker 1: game that could keep the momentum on your side.
Speaker 2: Green Bay just and again this probably goes back to
Speaker 2: some of the silent calls, but they just run the
Speaker 2: ball better too, I mean, create holes for Josh Jacobs.
Speaker 2: I mean it is available there for him with the title,
Speaker 2: the way that this guy is running right now. Not
Speaker 2: to say it needs to be one hundred and fifty
Speaker 2: yards again every game or anything like that, but like
Speaker 2: you know, if Josh Jacobs has one hundred yard game too,
Speaker 2: I mean the way that that can control the atmosphere
Speaker 2: and the tempo of a football game and allow Jordan
Speaker 2: Love to be in situations where he doesn't feel like
Speaker 2: he has to gun it as much in third and
Speaker 2: long or some of those type of incidents. There is
Speaker 2: an inundation and there is an infinite amount of different
Speaker 2: variables that could play into the Green Bay Packers winning
Speaker 2: or losing this football game.
Speaker 3: But at the end of the day, the more that you.
Speaker 2: Control the pace of this thing in that environment, protect
Speaker 2: the football, and take away the football, you come up
Speaker 2: on the plus side of that.
Speaker 3: I think the Packers are going to be okay.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think there was I think there was
Speaker 1: a little bit of a lesson learned as far as
Speaker 1: the Packers offense. Going back to that Detroit game that
Speaker 1: we saw early in the game the Lions were the
Speaker 1: Lions were selling out to stop the run. They were
Speaker 1: not going to let Josh Jacobs establish what he wanted
Speaker 1: to establish. But then what happened when the Packers got
Speaker 1: down ten to nothing, the first touchdown drive, the first
Speaker 1: scoring drive the Packers put together. What did they do?
Speaker 1: They pounded the ball at a team that was determined
Speaker 1: to stop the run, and they got the run going anyway.
Speaker 1: And I think that's something that's something you can hang
Speaker 1: your hat on a little bit to say, all right,
Speaker 1: you know, just because we were down ten to nothing
Speaker 1: and they, you know, and they were selling out to
Speaker 1: stop the run, that doesn't mean you just don't run
Speaker 1: the football you still, I mean. And it was the
Speaker 1: combination of running backs, Jacob's being the leader, of course,
Speaker 1: but Emmanuel Wilson Chris Brooks were worked into that as well.
Speaker 1: And that first touchdown drive against Detroit that got the
Speaker 1: Packers back into things was almost entirely on the ground.
Speaker 1: So I think that's something that will be interesting to
Speaker 1: watch going forward. It is worth clarifying Wes, even though
Speaker 1: it is so highly unlikely.
Speaker 3: But there is a.
Speaker 1: Scenario I'll be watching tonight by which the Packers can
Speaker 1: actually clinch a playoff spot this week, and it involves
Speaker 1: three things happening One would be a win at Seattle,
Speaker 1: Another would be the Raiders defeating the Falcons on Monday
Speaker 1: Night Football. And then the third piece, which is the
Speaker 1: most unlikely, is that the forty nine Ers and the
Speaker 1: Rams would tie on Thursday Night Football, which would be tonight,
Speaker 1: So not likely to happen, but it does illustrate how
Speaker 1: close the Packers are at this point two locking up
Speaker 1: their playoff spot. They're on the edge. It's almost there,
Speaker 1: but the Packers have some business take care.
Speaker 2: The cynic and me wants to say what was more
Speaker 2: unlikely that the Rams and forty nine Ers playing to
Speaker 2: attire the Raiders feeding the Falcons right now?
Speaker 1: And see, I think just about anybody could be Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's fair right now. That I mean the way they've played,
Speaker 1: the way they've played their last two games against the
Speaker 1: Chargers and the Vikings.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and Kirk Cousins has been on a run here,
Speaker 2: basically been like the opposite of Geno Smith and some
Speaker 2: of these teams since the buy. But be that as
Speaker 2: it may. Yeah, I mean, let's be honest, Mike. And
Speaker 2: one of the points I made it inside our inbox
Speaker 2: was it's great to have a winning season. The Packers
Speaker 2: have achieved that. Now nine wins is not enough. You
Speaker 2: have to keep pushing. You have to keep pounding and
Speaker 2: then just see where the rest of the dominoes fall.
Speaker 2: Last year was about trying to sneak in. This year
Speaker 2: is about positioning, and green Bay needs to defend its
Speaker 2: position that it's in right now, the advantage that it holds.
Speaker 2: Maybe not in the NFC North, but in the conference.
Speaker 2: There's a lot of teams in this conference that would
Speaker 2: do anything to be nine to four at this point.
Speaker 2: Green Bay has to be able to maximize that and
Speaker 2: figure out what happens there. Clinch this spot. May not
Speaker 2: happen this weekend, likely won't, but clinch the spot here,
Speaker 2: get your ticket punched into January.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and then from there then you.
Speaker 2: Can start to figure out all these other variables that
Speaker 2: you want to figure out. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And for those wondering, Okay, so if the forty nine
Speaker 1: ers and the Rams aren't gonna tie, like, what's the
Speaker 1: best result there for green Bay? The best result would
Speaker 1: be for the forty nine ers to win that game
Speaker 1: to get the Rams a seventh loss. So if you don't,
Speaker 1: if you don't want to sit there and try to
Speaker 1: root for a tie, root for the forty nine ers
Speaker 1: to beat the Rams. Two other games that have an
Speaker 1: impact that will have an impact on the Packers playoff pickture.
Speaker 1: Chicago is at Minnesota on Monday Night football. We have
Speaker 1: one of these Monday night doubleheader things. I'll let you
Speaker 1: talk about that if.
Speaker 3: You thank you.
Speaker 1: The other one is Washington is at New Orleans. So
Speaker 1: Washington is the team right now in the seventh spot
Speaker 1: in the NFC. New Orleans is the team that is
Speaker 1: come to lambeau Field next week to play the Green
Speaker 1: Bay Packers on Monday Night football. So those two games
Speaker 1: also will have an impact on the playoff picture as
Speaker 1: it relates to the Packers in the NFC bear Down.
Speaker 3: If there was ever a time where the Chicago Bears can.
Speaker 1: Hope, hopefully, hopefully it's not a repeat of three hundred
Speaker 1: and nineteen yards to four at halftime, that would maybe
Speaker 1: that would that'd be nice.
Speaker 2: I'm really worried for the Chicago Bears here. We'll see
Speaker 2: any given doubleheader on a Monday night. But Minnesota looked
Speaker 2: dominant last week in the Kirk Cousins Bowl, and Chicago
Speaker 2: is reeling right now. So hey, again, you never know
Speaker 2: what could happen. Certainly, the Packers, everybody in the state
Speaker 2: of Wisconsin, big Bears fans, there's really no detriment at
Speaker 2: all to the Bears winning that game. You want to
Speaker 2: see that come out the Raiders game. As much as
Speaker 2: I was trying to make a funny there earlier. This
Speaker 2: is very interesting because Atlanta was the team this year
Speaker 2: that sort of was like, Okay, we want to try
Speaker 2: to win this year. And I've said this time and
Speaker 2: time again, Mike, if you're building your roster at the
Speaker 2: end of July and into August, like with veteran players
Speaker 2: that were still in the market, I don't think that's
Speaker 2: historically been a great key to success. That's sort of
Speaker 2: the dream team model, and very rarely does it work out.
Speaker 2: And I think Atlanta has been solely figuring that out.
Speaker 2: I mean these Michael Pennix images of him on the
Speaker 2: sideline watching this team play, watching this offense play, I
Speaker 2: mean it's difficult. I mean he has the helmet on,
Speaker 2: he's sitting there. It's like the car's waiting. Just when
Speaker 2: do you want to finally see what it has to
Speaker 2: offer you. It may not be this season, but if
Speaker 2: the Raiders do find.
Speaker 3: A way to win that game.
Speaker 2: Not only it is Atlanta's wild card hopes take a significant,
Speaker 2: significant setback there. It's going to get harder and harder
Speaker 2: to keep pace with Tampa Bay in that division.
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay is possibly in, you know,
Speaker 1: in a spot where they could they could you know,
Speaker 1: get a little bit more of a stranglehold on that
Speaker 1: NFC South and try to get try to get the
Speaker 1: division championship. There. Two big games to talk about real
Speaker 1: quickly before we go. Two matchups in the NFL this
Speaker 1: week that that feature all the teams with double digit
Speaker 1: victories at this stage. Buffalo is at Detroit and Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: is at Philadelphia the Battle of Pennsylvania. So and both
Speaker 1: of those games I believe are in the three twenty
Speaker 1: five time slot. So we'll be kind of watching those
Speaker 1: wrap up in the press box in Seattle as we're
Speaker 1: getting ready for the Packers and the Seahawks to kick off.
Speaker 1: But just your thoughts on on where things go here
Speaker 1: with with Bill's Lions and Steelers Eagles.
Speaker 3: Bill's got to get one back here.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they do.
Speaker 2: And because not that, I mean, we know they're going
Speaker 2: to be in the playoffs. We've won the division once
Speaker 2: again for what was it the fifth straight year?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I believe it's five straight AFC East titles for Buffalo.
Speaker 2: Now, this is a team that wants to win a
Speaker 2: Super Bowl, and I think in many ways needs to
Speaker 2: win a Super Bowl. They've been sort of circling the
Speaker 2: wagons here for a number of years, but just haven't
Speaker 2: been able to finish the job.
Speaker 3: Well, now you're going to take.
Speaker 2: On one of the true juggernauts of the NFL so
Speaker 2: and you have to go into their place to do it.
Speaker 2: So that is going to be an ultimate litmus test
Speaker 2: for Josh Allen, big test for that defense, seeing if
Speaker 2: they can meet that challenge.
Speaker 1: That Detroit's very especially the way Buffalo's defense struggled against
Speaker 1: the Yeah, Matthew Stafford and Puka Nakua, those guys last week.
Speaker 1: That I mean, maybe that's the wake up call, so
Speaker 1: to speak, that the Buffalo defense needed. I'll be very
Speaker 1: interested to see how that defense responds against the Lions
Speaker 1: after what happened to him last week.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So, I mean, again, the Bills can come up there
Speaker 2: get one back. That certainly would be a beneficial to
Speaker 2: Green Bay. I am really interested to watch Pittsburgh. We
Speaker 2: won't really get that big of an opportunity to see
Speaker 2: the game, but Steelers have been one of the most
Speaker 2: impressive teams in terms of relative to what their expectations
Speaker 2: were this year, and if they were the Cleveland Brown,
Speaker 2: I feel like Mike Tomlin be the favorite for Coach of.
Speaker 3: The Year right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: But Philadelphia on the other side of this thing, is
Speaker 2: also thinking, Okay, we did not peak at the end
Speaker 2: of last season. We did falter down the stretch. I
Speaker 2: think that's a big game for both of these teams
Speaker 2: again with the idea of momentum in mind and seeing
Speaker 2: who can impose the will on their other fellow Pennsylvanian.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know how I always like to talk about,
Speaker 1: as I just did with regard to Buffalo's defense, I
Speaker 1: like to talk about, Okay, how is a team going
Speaker 1: to respond to what just happened? Philadelphia last week went
Speaker 1: to Carolina and got taken into the fourth quorder by
Speaker 1: a Carolina team that is definitely improving, but a Carolina
Speaker 1: team that is out of it and not really going
Speaker 1: anywhere this year. They needed a touchdown in the fourth
Speaker 1: quarter to be able to pull that game out. So
Speaker 1: was that just a bump in the road for Philadelphia
Speaker 1: that they survived after playing, you know, so strong for
Speaker 1: a couple of months there where they were looking as
Speaker 1: good as anybody in the league and with Saquon Barkley
Speaker 1: and Jalen Hurts and that whole offensive juggernaut or is
Speaker 1: you know, is there something to you know, have the
Speaker 1: Are the Eagles potentially starting to lose something like they
Speaker 1: did last year and they aren't going to be able
Speaker 1: to finish as strong as they want to. Last last
Speaker 1: week's game, they survived it, they got the win. But
Speaker 1: now they've got a major test in the Pittsburgh Steelers
Speaker 1: and how do they how do they react respond to
Speaker 1: what happened to them last week?
Speaker 2: Well, and it's all about playoff positioning for them and
Speaker 2: being able to build this thing up so you have
Speaker 2: some confidence. I don't know if I ever remember a
Speaker 2: team entering the playoffs that had less momentum than the
Speaker 2: Eagles did last year. Oh that was yeah, And that
Speaker 2: was they were as much of a team could be,
Speaker 2: as far as a dead man walking entering the postseason
Speaker 2: play as I think I've seen in years. I mean,
Speaker 2: they lost the division and then they kind of lost
Speaker 2: their grip on everything, and they just sort of skirted
Speaker 2: by based on what they did the first twelve weeks
Speaker 2: and and they were dispatched relatively early and with ease.
Speaker 2: So yeah, again it's gonna be it's gonna be huge here.
Speaker 2: And then the other side of it that the Eagles
Speaker 2: have to think about, much like what Green Bay was
Speaker 2: in last week when we were looking at the NFC
Speaker 2: North Race, the Eagles would still love to get that
Speaker 2: first round by as well, and they're one game behind Detroit.
Speaker 1: Right if I mean, that's the thing. If the if
Speaker 1: the Eagles win and if the Lions lose at home
Speaker 1: to Buffalo, then suddenly, you know, the Eagles and the
Speaker 1: Lions are tied for the top spot in the NFC.
Speaker 1: But then if it goes the other way, if it
Speaker 1: goes the other way, then suddenly the Eagles are two
Speaker 1: games back. If they lose and the Lions win, the
Speaker 1: Eagles are two games back of the top spot with
Speaker 1: only three games to play, and they probably don't have
Speaker 1: any realistic shot at getting the first rounds. Why there's
Speaker 1: there's a ton on the Lion.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's a really high stakes match up there
Speaker 2: for for both of those teams in their in their
Speaker 2: respective divisions, and to be honest with you, as much
Speaker 2: as we made a couple funnies about the Rams and
Speaker 2: the forty nine ers, yeah, both of those teams, depending
Speaker 2: on what the circumstances are, could find themselves clawing themselves
Speaker 2: into a wild card spot. But ultimately they have to
Speaker 2: try to heat pace here with Seattle, yeah, in trying
Speaker 2: to get that NFC West championship, and that I think
Speaker 2: it's really an interesting week, Mike. You got the Thursday
Speaker 2: night game, you got the two big three twenty five
Speaker 2: games on Sunday. Obviously the Sunday Night football game has
Speaker 2: a lot of consequences with it. But other than that,
Speaker 2: there isn't a whole lot going on this week in
Speaker 2: the NFL unless you're really into the whole like Kansas
Speaker 2: City Jameis Winston thing. But I mean, yeah, there isn't
Speaker 2: much to really point to.
Speaker 1: Yeah, those the big games at you know, starting at
Speaker 1: three twenty five Central time on Sunday, those couple of
Speaker 1: big games and culminating with Packers and Seahawks on Sunday
Speaker 1: Night Football, that should be a pretty good stretch of
Speaker 1: NFL action. But yeah, outside of that.
Speaker 2: Oh and then if yeah, the Chargers could take our
Speaker 2: business against Tampa too, I mean again, teams trying to
Speaker 2: get their seventh loss that would help in the NFC.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, absolutely Well, folks, the countdown to the twenty
Speaker 1: twenty five NFL drafting green Bay has begun, So mark
Speaker 1: your calendars for April twenty four through April twenty six
Speaker 1: of twenty twenty five, and visit green Bay dot com
Speaker 1: slash Draft twenty five for more information. And with that
Speaker 1: we'll call a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted.
Speaker 1: I'm sure to follow all of our coverage of the
Speaker 1: team and everything from Sunday nights big game in Seattle.
Speaker 1: Wes and I will be there and we'll have it
Speaker 1: all for you on Packers dot com. For Wes, I'm Mike.
Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in. Everybody. We wilcome see you
Speaker 1: next time.