WEBVTT - #561 Packers Unscripted: What it'll take 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:14.680 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:18.799 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, sitting alongside the 0:00:18.840 --> 0:00:22.040 one and only Western Hot Cowitz. We're coming to you 0:00:22.120 --> 0:00:25.760 here from our studio at lambeau Field West. The Packers 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:29.600 begin the second half of the season on Sunday at 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:34.000 lambeau Field a noon Central time kickoff against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:37.159 A six and two team against a one and seven team. 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:39.960 And we won't necessarily talk about those records, but we 0:00:40.040 --> 0:00:43.400 might as well get right into it here. Offensively, defensively, 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:45.720 I'll let you start where you want to. What do 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:48.680 the Packers need to do to win this game? Well, 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:50.760 they need to be able to protect the quarterback. And 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:53.480 what I mean by that is Jacksonville only has eight 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:58.160 sacks on the season. You're not anticipating a heavy pass rush. 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:01.080 But for Green Bay, I really think that this game 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:04.200 really boils down to is if Aaron Rodgers is time 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:06.800 to work, the Packers likely are going to be able 0:01:06.800 --> 0:01:08.720 to roll in this one. I just think that's where 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:10.360 the tempo is gonna get said. I think that's where 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:13.319 the tone is going to happen, and Jacksonville I mean 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:16.480 it was so recently, Mike, they were saying, you know, Saxonville, 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:20.400 there was so much energy and enthusiasm about that unit, 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:23.440 and it just hasn't been there this season. Josh Allen, 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:25.880 as I pointed out on Tuesday's show, you know, he 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:27.320 does have two and a half sacks here in the 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:29.920 last three games, but that's all he has this season. 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:32.200 You know, it's it's been kind of he had a 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:35.199 slow start, then had an injury. You know, Miles Jack 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:38.480 has had some stuff as well. So you know, you 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:41.240 wrote a story on Packers dot Com looking at Davante 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:43.680 Adams and and Aaron Jones both being back on the 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:46.440 field now, not one or the other, both of them, 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:49.720 if you get that one to combination. Going again for Rogers, 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:51.880 with what they've been doing offensively and especially the way 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:54.640 they've started games this season, I just think if green 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:57.000 Day imposes their will in those first couple of series, 0:01:57.040 --> 0:01:59.000 that could be enough to at least set the tone 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:00.960 for the rest of that game. Yeah. I think a 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:03.680 big part of this game, because as we know, this 0:02:03.720 --> 0:02:07.160 is a game the Packers should win if they play well, 0:02:07.440 --> 0:02:09.960 they play their game. I think the start of the 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:13.440 game is crucial here because you don't you don't want 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:16.880 to let the Jacksonville Jaguars think they can hang around 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:18.880 and and and make a game of this. Frankly, this 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:20.640 is a game. This is a game that the Packers 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:24.359 should be able to win comfortably. I'm not saying it's 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:27.359 going to be some college blowout like to six, That's 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:29.240 not what I'm saying. But in the NFL, you know 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:32.240 what a comfortable win feels like. And that's really what 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:34.760 the Packers should do here. And I think if they 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:38.280 I mean Packers have scored on their opening possession all 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:40.520 eight games so far this year. Obviously, you want to 0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:43.520 keep that going, make it nine, get control of the 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:46.839 game in the first quarter. Don't really let the Jaguars 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:49.799 think that this rookie quarterback Jake Luton is going to 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:52.919 come into lambeau Field and upset Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:54.959 And I think Green Bay will be in good shape, 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:56.440 you know. And the one thing that stands out to 0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:59.040 me too, And you look at Jacksonville this season, they've 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:03.040 scored points in the first quarter over eight They're averaging 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:06.000 three points a game in the first quarter. Now they've 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:08.400 gotten better. I mean they put up sixty. In the second, 0:03:08.400 --> 0:03:10.920 they're still getting outscored their seventy one to sixty, but 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:13.720 a sixty four to twenty four deficit out of the gate. 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:16.120 I think that kind of speaks to the issues they've 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:19.000 had early on in games. So if Green Bay is 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:21.120 able to again go out and be able to do 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:22.960 some of the things they've done through their first eight 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:25.040 games of the season, I just think it sets the 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:26.680 dominoes up for the rest of the thing to go. 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:29.839 How Matt Lafleur and Mike Petton would wish it to be, Yeah, 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:33.119 I thought it was. It was interesting asking questions yesterday 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:35.960 the story that you mentioned that I wrote about Aaron 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:38.360 Jones and Davante Adams being on the field at the 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:40.600 same time together. You look at these first eight games, 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:43.440 it's only happened three and a half games out of 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:45.680 eight that the two of them have been on the 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:48.760 field together, and only only for two games since Week two. 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:52.520 So the Packers are hoping that they get into a 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:54.360 stretch here where both of those guys are on the 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:57.680 field together. And I thought Adams explained it from the 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:01.160 challenge of the defense side of the ball. I thought 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:04.480 he explained it really well. In terms of deciding what 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:07.640 to do with your safeties. If you're gonna play you 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.400 know what they call cover two or too high, keeping 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:12.920 both safeties back, that's how you take away the big 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.080 play in the passing game. But it makes it a 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:18.000 lot harder to clamp down on Aaron Jones because if 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:19.880 he makes if he gets a hole and makes one 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:23.400 linebacker miss, suddenly you know you can have an explosive 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:27.640 run of fIF yards the flip side. If you're only 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:29.960 gonna play single high safety because you want that other 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:33.040 safety down in the box to prevent those explosive runs 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:36.599 by Aaron Jones, Suddenly, Davante Adams and Marquis Velde scant 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:39.320 Link for that matter, can be big problems because you're 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.440 gonna have a lot of harder time taking away the 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:45.080 deep passing place. So when the Packers have and again 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:47.680 I'm not taking anything away from Jamal Williams and what 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:49.560 he did in the backfield and everything, but we know 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:52.080 we've heard it from the coaches and the players. When 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:55.799 Aaron Jones is out there, he just brings a different 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:59.480 element to this offense. And now that he and Davantae 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:02.840 Adams are both healthy and hopefully we'll be playing together regularly. 0:05:03.240 --> 0:05:06.279 I think that's the sign that this offense can can 0:05:06.360 --> 0:05:08.400 you know, kick it up another name. You and I 0:05:08.480 --> 0:05:11.000 discussed it on Tuesday, but it bears repeating. I mean, 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:12.720 when you look at Aaron Jones, you're not gonna look 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:15.080 at his box score from the forty Niners game and 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:17.680 be completely blown away. And he was fifteen carries, maybe 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:20.280 fifty eight rushing yards. Not one of the ones that 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:22.359 he's going to put up on his mantle. But the 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:25.520 fact was just watching the way that San Francisco and 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:27.640 Robert Sala had to defend them at the beginning of 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:29.280 that game, as opposed to if they would have had 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:32.760 a practice squad player like Dexter Williams back there, or 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:36.760 you know, Tyler Irvin who hasn't played a traditional backfield 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:40.560 running back role this season. The game changed with Jones 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:43.200 doing that. The other thing is to Mike, you mentioned 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:45.560 it with the Cover two game that defensive coordinators have 0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:49.760 to play. If you give Aaron Jones a hole, Uh, 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:52.000 the yardage that he takes out of that is just 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:54.520 He's He's the type of running back that if you 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:57.599 give him four, he's gonna find eight. And it's just 0:05:57.880 --> 0:05:59.719 his shifting nous, the way he can knife through the 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:02.800 line in the biggest positive for Green Bay was coming 0:06:02.800 --> 0:06:04.800 out of that game. Even there were questions about the 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:07.680 calf going in, there were no questions about it coming out. 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:10.800 He was a full participant on Wednesday. The Packers would 0:06:10.839 --> 0:06:13.560 hope that, you know, through the Thursday and Friday good 0:06:13.600 --> 0:06:16.200 to go. In addition to the fact that Jamal Williams 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:18.800 now is off the COVID list after being held there 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:21.799 precautionarily and not being able to play against the forty, 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:25.640 So all those things together, especially depending on what happens 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:28.040 with Alan Lazar this week or whenever he's able to 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:30.880 get back onto the field. It's been sort of this dark, 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:33.480 hazy time for the Packers offense, but yet there's still 0:06:33.520 --> 0:06:35.160 a top ten unit and now they're getting all their 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:38.280 weapons back. Yeah. Absolutely well on the defensive side of 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:40.760 the ball. For me, this game comes down to one 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:42.960 thing that the Packers need to do in my mind, 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.760 and it is eliminate the big plays. And I say 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:50.000 that because when you have a rookie quarterback coming in 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:54.320 here like Jake Luton, the last thing you want to 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:56.320 do is let him do what he did at the 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:58.640 beginning of the Houston game, which has hit a seventy 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:01.760 yard touchdown pass right out of the gate, and that 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:06.120 big play kept Jacksonville in that game the entire way, 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:07.960 and they end end up, you know, losing a close 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:11.200 one there at the end. With a rookie quarterback, more 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:15.760 than any other type of signal caller for the opposing offense, 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:18.520 you want to make him have to put together a 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:21.520 ten twelve third team play drive in order to get 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:25.160 points because rookie quarterbacks are going to make mistakes. If 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:27.200 you give up the big chunk plays and he can 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:30.280 get points on a three or four play scoring drive, 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:33.000 that makes his job a heck of a lot easier. 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:35.080 The more you can stretch him out and make him 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:37.600 earn it all the way down the field, the greater 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:39.600 chance that a mistake is going to happen, and then 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:42.360 you hope for the Packers defense to pounce on a turnover. 0:07:42.440 --> 0:07:44.680 We'll look at that game against Houston, right, I mean, 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:47.520 his one touchdown passes a seventy three yard bomb to 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:50.320 DJ Sharks. So I mean, these are those type of 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:52.480 plays that can really tell the football game if you 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:54.800 let them. The thing that I think we learned the 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:58.400 most with this offense and with Luton in particular, is 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:01.760 that you don't want to discount or discredit anybody. I 0:08:01.840 --> 0:08:04.000 kind of pose the question off of you know what 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:06.840 I think you're gonna be reading this Saturday, UH to 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:10.920 Jerry Gray, the Packers defensive backs coach, about what this 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:13.920 process is like getting ready for a rookie quarterback. What 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:16.400 kind of you know, what do you tell your guys 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:18.480 as far as defending them or what kind of opportunities 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:21.080 would have been there? And he takes a very baseline 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:22.800 approach at it. The way he kind of laid it 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:25.440 out was well, at some point Tom Brady was a 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:27.840 rookie sixth round pick two our first year, second year 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:31.360 player too. There were defenses that undoubtedly took him for 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:34.040 granted and he made them pay. You got to prepare 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:36.520 like you're seeing the starting quarterback of an NFL team 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:38.760 and not really care about what the rest of the 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:40.959 you know, the box score says or the bio says. 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:43.240 They have to be ready because otherwise you're gonna get 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:46.400 burned in Green Bay depending on if Gire Alexander plays 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:47.959 in this game. As he's working his way through the 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:51.200 concussion protocol right now you might be going in with 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:54.480 Josh Jackson and Kadar Holman as you're starting boundary cornerbacks, 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:58.240 your perimeter cornerbacks. So the main focus has to be 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:00.720 on what Green Bay is doing now so much about 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:02.920 what Jacksonville is going to give them, because if you 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:05.520 focus too much and you take for granted what Jacksonville 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:07.920 is gonna throw at you because they're, you know, one 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:10.360 in seven and they have all these things working against them, 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:14.160 that's where you get burned. Yeah. Absolutely, And you hope, obviously, 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:16.440 as we talked about on our last show that the 0:09:16.520 --> 0:09:19.560 defense getting the two turnovers against the San Francisco forty 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:24.000 nine last Thursday ups the season total of takeaways from 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:26.640 four to six. You hope that maybe that's the start 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:30.120 of some momentum here on defense too, to generating those 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:32.520 takeaways that were such a big part of the defense's 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:37.880 success in Now you're facing another rookie quarterback, not not 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:40.320 that Mullins was. Mullins was not a rookie, but was 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:43.920 a backup quarterback. You're facing another backup quarterback here this 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:47.360 week that certainly the Packers on the defensive side of 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:49.440 the ball would like to generate a couple of more 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:53.520 turnovers and and see if they can set a certain 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:57.640 standard for how they're going to play and the ways 0:09:57.679 --> 0:09:59.560 in which they can take the football away and try 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:02.360 to carry that through the second half of the season. Yeah, 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:04.120 and and this is where it has to start. We're 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:06.520 in the third quarter now, this is where Green Bay 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:09.400 is gonna have this game against Jacksonville and then everything 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:12.760 ramps up. Indianapolis has the best defense in the NFL 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:15.720 right now. Statistically, Chicago is no slouch either, even though 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:18.280 they've had a couple of games going against them. Philadelphia 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:20.960 always beats this plays this team tough and beat them 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:23.680 the last time. That game was actually at lambeau Field. 0:10:23.720 --> 0:10:27.400 So yeah, you can't take anything, you know, just thinking that. Okay, 0:10:27.400 --> 0:10:28.920 well we're six and two now, we got a big 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:31.040 win against the forty Niners. Now we'll just press forward. 0:10:31.200 --> 0:10:32.920 You have to build on what they did against the 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:35.920 forty Niners offense, defense, and special teams, and it starts 0:10:35.920 --> 0:10:38.800 on Sunday against Jacksonville. All right, Well, quickly hear what's 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:41.800 a little bit of sponsored business serious x M NFL 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:45.080 Radio Channel eight is the only radio outlet dedicated to 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:49.000 the National Football League seven days a week. Sixty five 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:51.800 days a year, and Packers fans be sure to gear 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:54.880 up for game day. Open a Packers checking account from 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:57.920 Associated Bank and score a fifty dollar Packers Pro Shop 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:01.439 gift card. Learn more at Associated bank dot com. Backslash 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:04.520 Packers All Rights. I want to get your thoughts here 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:07.760 on a handful of other games this week in the NFL, 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:10.800 because there are some interesting ones to discuss, and actually 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:12.520 I want to start with the one that's going on 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:15.920 tonight as we tape this on Thursday morning. Thursday Night 0:11:15.920 --> 0:11:18.840 Football will be the Indianapolis Colts at the Tennessee Titans, 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:21.320 a big matchup in the a f C South, the 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:24.520 two top teams in the a f C South, both 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:27.240 of whom are on the Packers schedule in the second 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:29.920 half of the season, and next week the Colts being 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:32.920 that opponent now they will be coming. They will be 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:35.800 coming back to Lucas Oil Stadium, but off of the 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:38.319 mini by with the weekend off, just like the Packers 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:41.400 are now after playing on a Thursday night. But this 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:43.920 will be an interesting one here with as you said, 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:46.520 top defense in the league as far as yardage goes, 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:48.959 one of the top in terms of points allowed, with 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:52.920 the Colts against a against the Titans team that certainly 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:56.040 they they've had a couple of hiccups, but since uh, 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:58.640 you know, last December and into January, this is a 0:11:58.679 --> 0:12:02.240 Titans team that has played with anybody and everybody, and 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:06.360 they've they've established themselves as a real formidable force in 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:08.080 the a f C. Yeah, and I think over the 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:10.520 last few years now, we've started to actually appreciate I 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:13.320 think more and more Mike Vrabel isn't just an underrated 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:15.560 coach anymore. He's quickly becoming one of the best coaches 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:17.599 in the league, and especially on the defensive side of 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:20.400 the ball with what they've implemented there the last few 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:23.199 seasons and some of the changes that they've made. This 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:25.600 is a gut check game for Indianapolis, though, because while 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:27.439 they sit at five and three and they haven't lost 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:29.839 back to back games all season, it always seems like 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.160 when they take one step forward, they just take another 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:35.640 step back and they're still stuck in neutral Philip rivers 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:39.079 this season ten touchdowns, seven interceptions only I think seven 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:42.199 points six yards per pass yards per attempt this year, 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:44.320 so a little bit down in that regard. They also 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:46.160 need to figure out what their running game is right now? 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:48.680 Is it Jonathan Taylor, is it Jordan Wilkins Who's going 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:50.040 to be the face of that in the second half 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:52.480 of the season. So I think, much like how we've 0:12:52.520 --> 0:12:56.240 been learning more and more about the Bears, positive and negative, 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:58.440 I think this is gonna be a real checkpoint on 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:01.640 the cold season as well. And from the Titans perspective, 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:06.040 it's a wide open top of that conference right now. 0:13:06.280 --> 0:13:08.679 Everybody has a shot at that top seed and there's 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:11.680 basically five teams that all that could arguably be the 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:14.280 top seeds. So uh, it's a kind of a taking 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:16.079 bit care of business sort of matchup for them and 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:19.040 seeing if Derrick Henry can keep doing what he's been doing. Yeah. Well, 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:22.640 as far as uh these a f C NFC matchups, 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:25.760 which the Packers in Jacksonville is obviously one of those, 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:29.800 the most interesting one on the schedule Buffalo traveling out 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:34.920 west to face Arizona. Now, last week Seattle traveled across 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:38.200 the country to Buffalo to play the Bills and Buffalo 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:40.960 chalked up a big victory there. Now Buffalo is the 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:43.960 team that has to make the cross country trip, uh 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:47.439 down to the Southwest to Arizona. To face the Cardinals 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:50.920 from the NFC West. This is this is a really 0:13:50.920 --> 0:13:54.280 interesting one because there's a there's a lot of a 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:56.760 lot of positive vibe, a lot of hype around the 0:13:56.800 --> 0:14:00.840 Bills and Josh Allen and rightly so, but also Kyler 0:14:00.960 --> 0:14:03.680 Murray and uh and the Arizona Cardinals. They're trying to 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:06.720 they're trying to, you know, stake their claim to some 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:10.000 territory here in a really tough NFC West division, and 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:13.040 this this one, there aren't there probably isn't a lot 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:15.040 of the country that's going to get to watch this 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:18.520 one in terms of the way the network stuff is uh, 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:20.680 you know, shaking out for this week. But this is 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:22.920 a really interesting matchup. It's great and it's funny. I 0:14:22.960 --> 0:14:25.840 just got done talking about you know, he had sort 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:28.160 of an underrated coach in Mike Frabel. Then you've got 0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:30.880 Sean McDermott with the Bills, and I mean he might 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:33.240 be the most underrated of all and the best might 0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:35.720 be more impressed over the last handful of years, like 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:38.400 what he has done with with that with that Buffalo Bill, 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:40.440 especially during some years where the didn't have really a 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:42.960 set quarterback and yet they still found ways to win well. 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:46.720 Now they probably by all intensive purposes. In my opinion, 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:48.720 I think they got the best quarterback of that draft 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:52.840 class right now. I mean, Josh Allen is looking dynamic. 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:56.200 He can throw, he can pass, he can run, he 0:14:56.200 --> 0:14:58.280 can basically do whatever they need him to do at 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:00.840 any given moment to win a football all game. Now, 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:02.920 you're gonna be going up against an Arizona defense and 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:05.920 has had some questions to answer. But Cliff Kingsbury's offense 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:08.960 with Kyler Murray at the controls, they can play with 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:12.640 anybody in the National Football League. And you look at Murray, 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:14.680 I think last week he was an up for NFL 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:17.720 Ground Player the Week with what he did with his feet. 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:21.160 When I mentioned Alan and being so multifaceted, Murray is 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:25.760 of that same bilk and even more importantly, that conference 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:27.960 or that division. I should say, you have to win 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:30.240 every game that's in front of you. The Bills are 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:32.520 a massive test to being able to do that. Yeah, 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:34.360 that one's going to be going to be a good 0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:37.280 one to follow. Another one to mention here within the 0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:40.720 NFC West, that tough division we've been talking about. Seattle 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:44.080 is at the l A. Rams and as I mentioned 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.200 on our last show. The Rams are five and three 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:50.000 at the midway point, but four of their remaining eight 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:52.120 games they have two with the Seahawks and two with 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:54.440 the Cardinals. They have a lot in front of them 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:56.920 that they can if they can get on a run here, 0:15:56.960 --> 0:16:00.640 they can take command of things. Seattle six and two 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:03.120 tied for the top record in the NFC right now 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:06.240 with the Packers in the Saints. But the Seahawks have 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.240 lost two of their last three after a five and 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:11.560 oh start, and they have a defense that statistically is 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:14.000 among the bottom of the of the league. They've got 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:18.200 problems defensively. This is a really really important one in 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:20.720 the NFC West because if Seattle wins this and gets 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:22.960 two games up on the Rams, you know, seven and 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:27.360 two versus five and four, things look really really different 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.080 for the Rams. But if the Rams get the win 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:31.840 six and three, they even themselves up with the Seahawks 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:35.480 at six and three. Whatever happens with Arizona against Buffalo, 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:39.480 that NFC, that NFC West starts to get even more complicated, 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:42.280 and Aaron Donald against that Seattle front too, and seeing, 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:44.040 you know what, what's the number one way to really 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:46.760 attack Russell Wilson collapse the pocket. He does it better 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:49.800 than anybody in the National Football League, So that aspect 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.280 of it is really intriguing. But you know, throw this 0:16:52.360 --> 0:16:54.040 out there too. You also got to look at that 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:57.120 game between San Francisco now having to go to New Orleans, 0:16:57.520 --> 0:16:59.720 so you know, we'll see how that works out for 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:01.560 the four Niners, They're still gonna be missing a lot 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:04.480 of people. This is a massive opportunity for either the 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:07.000 Rams of the Seahawks to really gain some traction with 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:09.639 the Cardinals having a tough competition with the Bills and 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:12.159 the Forts having to take care of arguably now the 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:14.639 hottest team in the NFL in the Saints, who I 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.080 think many left for dead as recently as three weeks ago. 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:19.439 So that just sort of tells you where this season 0:17:19.480 --> 0:17:22.400 has gone. And yet for the for the Rams perspective, 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:24.760 this is what they were wanting to do after missing 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:26.959 the playoffs last year. Has come back and make a statement, 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:29.560 show that Jared Goff is still our quarterback, showed that 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:32.480 this offense can be successful in the post Todd Gurley era. 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:34.560 And they've done all that, I mean, and along with 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:37.800 the defense that's really difficult to sometimes solve. Yeah, no 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:40.119 doubt well, last one to get your thoughts on, and 0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:43.200 this is the one that is the most pertinent as 0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:46.120 far as the Green Bay Packers are concerned. Monday Night football, 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:48.920 the Minnesota Vikings will be at Soldier Field to take 0:17:48.960 --> 0:17:51.680 on the Chicago Bears. And I've gone back and forth 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.040 a little bit with the with the readers and inbox 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:57.400 about this one. Because the Bears are five and four 0:17:57.760 --> 0:18:00.240 the Vikings are three and five. So when you get 0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:02.720 those records, you go, oh, well, you want Minnesota to 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:08.119 beat Chicago. But I'm not so sure. Because the Bears 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:10.320 were five and one, they have lost three in a row. 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:13.320 They have not solved any of their issues on offense. 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:16.680 That offense is still really struggling and trying to find 0:18:16.720 --> 0:18:20.359 its footing. Meanwhile, the Vikings, after their one in five start, 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:23.560 they now have two straight wins over division opponents, beating 0:18:23.560 --> 0:18:26.160 the Packers and the Lions in back to back weeks. 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:30.199 Dalvin Cook looks as unstoppable as any running back in 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:32.840 the league, similar to what Derrick Henry for the Titans 0:18:32.920 --> 0:18:37.199 was doing late last season. And here's the thing, Wes. 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:41.679 After this Monday night game at Chicago, Minnesota's next three games, 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:48.640 Cowboys Panthers, Jaguars, three sub five hundred teams. Cowboys obviously 0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:51.359 have have been, you know, playing the quarterback carousel with 0:18:51.359 --> 0:18:55.400 with their issues Carolina. There's still questions about Christian McCaffrey 0:18:55.400 --> 0:18:58.080 and his health, and obviously Jacksonville we've been talking about 0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:00.919 them this week. If minnesot To wins this game on 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:03.840 Monday night and gets to four and five, they very 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:07.159 very easily could be seven and five three more weeks 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:10.840 from now, and all of a sudden, everybody's saying nobody 0:19:10.880 --> 0:19:13.120 wants to play the Vics, right, I mean that that's 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:15.520