WEBVTT - #399 Packers Unscripted: Sizing up the schedule 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:21.799 Hi, everybody, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:24.720 I am Mike Spofford, joined as always by my trusted 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:27.760 colleague West Hodkowits were coming to you here from our 0:00:27.800 --> 0:00:30.240 studios at lambeau Field and West and our first show 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:34.760 back from our little hiatus. Earlier this week we covered 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:37.400 a lot of the old news, everything that we had 0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:40.240 to catch up on from the off season. But here 0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:44.200 right away show number two, breaking news, breaking news, fresh 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:46.720 news to talk about. And what I am talking about 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:49.840 is the two thousand nineteen Packers schedule. It dropped on 0:00:49.960 --> 0:00:54.280 Wednesday night. League wide, everybody found out all of the wends, 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:58.440 having known all of the what's in the wares since January. 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:02.520 But the two thousand nineteen schedule is out. There's a 0:01:02.760 --> 0:01:05.440 there are some unique elements to the way this lays 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:07.720 out for the Packers for the coming season, for Matt 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:10.280 Lafleur's first season as a head coach. Where do you 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:12.880 want to start with this? Well, let's start at the start, Michael. 0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:15.480 The Green Bay Packers will travel to start the hundredth 0:01:15.520 --> 0:01:18.000 season of the NFL against the Chicago Bears. But right 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:20.480 after that matchup, come back to lambeau Field for three 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:23.120 straight home games, and as it works out, five of 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:26.600 their first seven will be played at lambeau Field. Two 0:01:26.600 --> 0:01:29.080 back to back games against the NFC North to kick 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:31.960 things off. And it's really interesting you talked about the 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.800 unique intricacies of this this whole schedule. Two to start 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:37.440 against the division, three to end against the division. You 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:39.880 have to beat your division teams to be able to 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:42.400 succeed the Packers. It's gonna play into getting off to 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:45.319 a fast start, and it's gonna play into finishing strong. 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:48.120 And I think ultimately that's what the NFL wanted to 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:49.840 go for when they made some of the changes that 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:51.800 they did with the schedule and number of number of 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:55.040 years ago. But it is quite coincidental to see so 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:57.360 many NFC North matchups fall right at the beginning of 0:01:57.400 --> 0:01:59.320 right at the end. Yeah, the book ends to this 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:03.080 schedule are what jump out at me. You only have 0:02:03.200 --> 0:02:06.960 six division games. Your division games make up roughly your 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:10.120 schedule six out of sixteen. But for the Packers here 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:12.840 you start with two and you end with three. That's 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:15.480 five of your six division games that are at the 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:19.280 polar opposites, you know, at at the beginning and the end. 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:22.680 I just think that's a really unique alignment. Now, the 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:26.359 Packers had something similar to this in two thousand and sixteen, 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:28.560 it wasn't quite the same. The ending was the same, 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:31.680 with three straight division games to finish The beginning of 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:35.000 this season, if you remember, started with that trip to Jacksonville, 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:38.320 and then back to back division games after that. But 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:40.240 what I will say is that when you look at it, 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:44.000 you look back to the Packers. They won the game 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:46.840 in Jacksonville, they split those first two division games, so 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:48.960 they were two and one out of the gate, and 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:51.160 then obviously the three at the end. We're part of 0:02:51.160 --> 0:02:53.760 the run the table as the Packers made that run 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:57.320 into the playoffs. Really winning those division games that year 0:02:57.400 --> 0:03:01.120 is what allowed the Packers to survive of a pretty 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:04.120 bad mid season slump when they lost four straight games 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:08.320 through late October and into into mid November. If you 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:10.840 can win your division games in this league West, it 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:13.639 gives you at least a little bit more wiggle room, 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:15.600 a little bit more of a buffer zone. And I 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:18.080 just think that you know, those two at the beginning 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:20.680 and the three at the end are really the games 0:03:20.720 --> 0:03:23.480 that could define this season for Green Bay. Well, I'm 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:26.200 glad it's only episode two back from the hiatus, but 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:28.720 I'm able to say the Mike Spofford, let's be a 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:31.880 real moment of the week. It's so true, though, Mike. 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:34.720 When you get three games to close the season against 0:03:34.720 --> 0:03:36.440 the division, you for the first one to point it 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:39.040 out to me when the schedule came out. It immediately 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:41.640 makes you think back to two thousand sixteen and how 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:46.440 that run, as incredible as it was, it doesn't reach 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:50.280 its fulfilled stage unless they get those three division games 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:52.840 to to sneak into the playoffs and then keep the 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:55.560 magic going once they got there. So that is something 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:57.800 that definitely sticks out to me. But it also is 0:03:57.800 --> 0:04:00.760 gonna be tough Week sixteen, you're going into US Bank Stadium. 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:03.360 The following week you have to go into Ford Field 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:06.240 that have now closed this regular season at ford Field 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:09.240 in three of the last four seasons, so that's no 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:12.800 easy task. But getting the Chicago Bears in Green Bay 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:15.640 in December is always a positive thing. And you know, 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:18.919 quite honestly, if you're gonna play at Soldier Field, you 0:04:19.000 --> 0:04:21.200 might as well do it in week one. So I mean, 0:04:21.200 --> 0:04:22.880 you're able to get that one out and if you 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:25.359 win that game, you set the tone for the season. Yeah, 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:28.479 you had mentioned the five of the first seven being 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:31.200 at home. You look at it, it's actually five out 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:35.159 of six home games after the road opener at Chicago 0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:38.440 in that Thursday night kickoff game. This is uh And 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:41.040 I mentioned this in in my story on our website 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:44.919 on Wednesday night. This is something that just screams opportunity 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:48.360 for a first year head coach to have a whole 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:50.800 run of home games early in the season, to to 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:53.520 get things off on the right foot, to get whatever 0:04:54.080 --> 0:04:56.880 continuity and flow that you need to your offense, your 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:59.360 new system, with your two time m v P quarterback, 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:02.360 all of that. The beginning of this sets up I 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:04.840 don't and I'm not saying the opponents don't matter, but 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:07.719 I'm not even looking at the opponents necessarily. In those 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:10.440 five games, five home games in a span of six 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:13.880 weeks before Halloween, that's when you've got to make some 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.359 hay right exactly, And I mean things are gonna change, 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:19.080 players are gonna get hurt, rosters are gonna look different. 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:21.200 But the thing is is that you don't take away 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:23.839 the home game from that equation, and you can't under 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:27.600 you can't understate how important overstate how important that is 0:05:27.960 --> 0:05:30.400 to be able to have that kind of opportunity, And, 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:32.640 to be quite honest with you, Mike, not that any 0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:35.560 road game is easy, but if you look at Soldier 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:38.440 Field in a T and T stadium, those aren't the 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:41.640 most daunting stadiums that Aaron Rodgers has ever walked into. 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:44.960 He's had to share success in those locations as well. 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:47.480 So while yeah, that's going to be a challenge going 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:49.840 into US Bank, it always has been a challenge going 0:05:49.880 --> 0:05:52.800 into Ford Field, the Packers actually have some pretty good, 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:57.400 you know, fertile ground to build this season upon. So uh, 0:05:57.440 --> 0:05:59.520 the biggest thing that I'm looking forward to is you 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:01.680 get the Thursday night game out of the way right away. 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:04.279 That's Week four against Philadelphia. You get it at home. 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:06.600 You obviously are gonna get that little bit of a 0:06:06.640 --> 0:06:09.640 mini break after the first game against the Bears. You 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:12.279 do need to win these games. If you if you 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:16.400 start slow, your your schedule starts to look kind of daunting. 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:19.679 But that being said, is if you can start fast, 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:22.599 it really sets up the season nicely with the Week 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:25.080 eleven bye week, you know, being able to kind of 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:28.280 you know, have some more balance to it than they 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:30.080 have in previous years. Yeah, and I want to get 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:32.120 to that that back half of the schedule in a 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:35.720 minute here at West But before I forget the powerful 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:39.839 noise canceling technology that helps NFL coaches block out eight 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:43.240 tho screaming fans can get you closer to the music 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:46.840 you love. Learn more at www dot bows dot com, 0:06:46.880 --> 0:06:50.960 slash Packers, Bows the official headphones of the Green Bay Packers, 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.039 and at Homer. Here in the stands, we all know 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:54.919 that Green Bay fans give it their all and that 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.320 takes a lot of energy. So grab a warm bowl 0:06:57.320 --> 0:07:00.000 of Campbell's Chunky Soup. It's meaty goodness fuels the great 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:04.120 the Packers fans everywhere try the delicious classic chicken noodle soup. 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:07.760 Just visit your local supermarket and asked for Campbell's Chunky Soup, 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:11.640 Official sup partner of the Green Bay Packers. Okay, looking 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:13.640 at the back half of the schedule, after you have 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:17.120 that run of five home games in six weeks, you're 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:20.920 getting close to Halloween. You look at you look at 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:24.920 the back half. They're actually three different back to back 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:28.240 road game stretches. Now, the first one of those is 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:31.080 awfully daunting to go back to back at Kansas City 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:34.040 and at Los Angeles the Chargers. Those are the two 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:36.760 teams that the New England Patriots beat in the playoffs 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:39.240 back to back to get back to the super Bowl. 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:41.960 Those were two of the last four teams standing in 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:44.440 the a f C last year to play them on 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:47.560 the road back to back. You're talking about a matchup 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:51.000 of two m vps, Rogers and Mahomes, and then two 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:53.400 quarterbacks who are headed to the Hall of Fame in 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:56.400 my opinion, and Rogers and Philip Rivers. That's gonna be 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:59.960 a really really interesting one to punch, so to speak. 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:02.360 As far as back to back road, well, the Kansas 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:05.960 City game, certainly, I really like it from the standpoint 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:08.600 of We heard Aaron Rodgers talk late last season. He 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.600 wasn't trying to compare himself to Patrick Mahomes at all, 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:13.880 but he said, you know, he sees a lot of 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:16.200 his game in Mahomes, And to be honest with you, 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:18.080 I think that's the type of game that a lot 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:20.440 of quarterbacks now this next generation are really going to 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:23.560 have to adapt to. Being able to create, being able 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:25.760 to audible, being able to use your feet, having a 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:29.080 magnificent arm. He has from all these different angles, you know, 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:31.520 arm angles and all that kind of stuff, throwing with 0:08:31.560 --> 0:08:33.840 his left hand when he needs to. I mean, there's 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:36.960 just so many different things that play into making him 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:40.120 an m v P quarterback. So they see that first encounter, 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:42.680 it made perfect sense to throw it in Sunday night football. 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:45.320 It will be a challenging game, but there are some 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:48.000 questions with Kansas City, what is their defense gonna look like? 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:49.840 They've had a lot of changes on that side of 0:08:49.840 --> 0:08:52.600 the ball. L A is going to be just a 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:55.120 really unique experience because they're gonna be playing in a 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:58.920 thousand seats soccer stadium. Um, you and I still haven't 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:00.880 been able to do the research this. You estimated it 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:03.040 might have been the Snowball, the last time the Packers 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:06.400 have played in front of fewer than thirty thousand people. Yeah. 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:08.959 That uh, And for those are not sure what I'm 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:12.479 referring to there, that's the Steve Young Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:17.559 game at lambeau Field. I believe it was was the 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:20.120 year of it, and I think the announced attendance for 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:23.160 that game was somewhere in the twenty thousand range, and 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:25.400 there may have only been you know, seven to nine 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:28.880 thousand people who actually came to lambeau Field that day. 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:32.960 But but yeah, I can't. It really will be interesting 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:35.680 doing the research on that to see how long it's 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:37.640 been since the Packers played in front of such a 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:39.720 small crowd. Yeah, and it's gonna be a cool experience. 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:42.960 But you also would anticipate with us going to you know, 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:45.640 last year, you and I traveling out to l A 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:48.319 for that game against with the Packers, and in the Rams, 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:51.559 we said it all along going into that thing, that yeah, 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:54.280 that's gonna probably be a pretty favorable Packer crowd, and 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:59.360 I think it's still exceeded my expectation did people in there, 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:01.320 and there was quite a few times where Jared Goff 0:10:01.320 --> 0:10:03.880 had to go to a silent count. So, Philip Rivers, 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:06.160 we know the challenges that the Charges have had building 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:09.520 their fan base now in l A. It's gonna be Uh, 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.200 both of them are incredibly difficult matchups. I don't want 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:15.679 to undersell that, but there are opportunities there. And if 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:17.839 you get through that run of three straight a f 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:20.280 C opponents, you know, the things start to line up 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:23.000 a little better for you. Yeah, you're talking Arrowhead Stadium 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:25.840 on a Sunday night and then potentially a lot of 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:29.520 Packers fans trying to pack that that soccer stadium dignity 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:34.160 Health Systems part or something. Yeah, you're talking about to 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:38.480 two really really interesting atmospheres, very different in their own right, 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:42.520 but but really interesting road atmospheres. And then the other 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:44.880 part of this to West is that, obviously with all 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:46.920 the home games early in the season, you're gonna have 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:48.920 to deal with a lot of road trips on the 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:51.640 back end. Now, the Kansas City Los Angeles back to 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:56.400 back starts a stretch of the Packers playing four of 0:10:56.600 --> 0:10:59.120 five games on the road. They also have another back 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:02.920 to back road swing to San Francisco and to New 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:06.240 York to play the Giants. But what actually helps the 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:09.400 Packers this year, which they didn't get last year when 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:11.400 they had to play four road games in a span 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:13.520 of five weeks, which is really when the season kind 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:16.840 of unraveled, is that the Packers bye week is in 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:18.880 the middle of that. So even though it's four road 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:21.880 games in a span of five games, it's over a 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:24.160 span of six weeks because you're gonna have a week 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:25.840 off in there as well. I think that is going 0:11:25.880 --> 0:11:29.560 to help the Packers navigate through this really tough stretch 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:32.160 of road games with just the one home game over 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:34.840 over a long span. I think you counted fifty six 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:37.079 days that the Packers are only going to have one 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.400 home game, but having the bye week mixed in there 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:41.320 is going to be a big assist, still better than 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:43.560 what Tampa Bay has. Did you see that run? They 0:11:43.559 --> 0:11:47.560 have seven weeks they will not be playing at home 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:49.880 at all, that their one home game is the London 0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:51.760 is the London game, and then I think they also 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:53.320 have a bye week mix in there too, But then 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:55.160 they're they're playing like six and seven on the road. 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:57.880 It's a crazy schedule. But in regards to the Packers, 0:11:57.880 --> 0:11:59.720 you know the other thing that worked out well and 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:02.000 it's first time they've caught the week eleven by since 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:04.520 the NFL started doing that in two thousand eleven. But 0:12:04.600 --> 0:12:07.959 more importantly, it comes after a noon game against Carolina. 0:12:08.280 --> 0:12:10.360 Now we'll have to see exactly how Matt Floor wants 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:12.840 to handle that bye week, but that is a picture 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:16.439 perfect opportunity for players that are healthy to pack their 0:12:16.480 --> 0:12:19.200 bags and head home for a week. Yeah, immediately after that, 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:21.040 you don't have a long trip coming back. You're not 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:23.800 coming back from London or anything like that. You play 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:25.920 the noon game, you're done by three. You know you 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:28.920 have some time to rest and recuperate. A perfect timing 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:30.360 if you're going to have a stretch like that where 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:32.000 you only have one home game to be able to 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:34.320 have a noon game as it's scheduled right now, and 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:35.760 then right on the back end of that half the 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:37.600 buy yeah, a chance to get out of dodge and 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:39.480 put your feet up for a few days and and 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:41.640 get ready for what the Packers are hoping is going 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:44.360 to be a stretch run of their final six games. 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:46.920 And then you look at the other back to back 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:50.880 road game. The third one of the group is the 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:54.080 Week sixteen Week seventeen and actually only six days apart 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:57.440 with being at Minnesota in week week sixteen on a 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:00.400 Monday night and then turning around and going to Detroit 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:05.000 for Week seventeen for the regular season finale. That's a 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:07.439 really interesting back to back. You're talking about a cold 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:10.880 weather team like the Packers finishing this finishing the regular 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:12.920 season with back to back road games. Now that will 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:16.920 be coming off of meeting number two hundred historically between 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:18.880 the Packers and the Bears, which will be at lambeau 0:13:18.960 --> 0:13:21.920 Field Week fifteen mid December. I think that's one to 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:24.200 really look forward to. But finishing back to back in 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:27.880 December in domes, you know, kind of a unique situation 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:30.199 as well. So I was sitting at my house after 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:34.840 I got done Wednesday night, I'm enjoying a nice sparkling water, 0:13:35.440 --> 0:13:37.600 and I was thinking to myself, and I'm curious to 0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:39.760 hear your thoughts on this. If you're the Green Bay Packers, 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:42.840 would you rather have to go to Minnesota and week 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:46.880 sixteen or go in week two and go back to 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:48.800 back on the road in the NFC North to start 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:51.040 the season, but then have the Vikings at lambeau Field 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:52.599 in week sixteen? Which one do you think would have 0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:56.120 been better? I guess for me, my immediate reaction as 0:13:56.200 --> 0:14:00.640 always to have those indoor teams come outdoors in December, 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:02.560 I think, I think so that would have been worth 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:04.760 it to you. Yeah, it would have been. It would 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:08.240 have been to me. But but yeah, to think about 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:11.080 going at Chicago and at Minnesota out of the gate 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:14.080 one two year to two big division rivals like that, 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:17.480 that would have been an awfully, awfully daunting start. I 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:20.360 think it falls somewhere in between, because the worst scenario 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:23.320 would have been having to go to Minnesota in week seventeen. 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:25.720 Let's say that game gets flex that fan base is 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:29.120 gonna be eccentric. Well, at least in this case, you 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:31.480 get them in week sixteen. You need to take care 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:33.200 of business. You need to get a win there. They 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:35.800 haven't gotten enough of those in Minnesota lately. But then 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:38.720 if things go well, okay, we'll see what the Lions 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:41.080 look like in two thousand nineteen. But they've had success there. 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:43.880 They've been in that situation before having to win to 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:46.200 get in in two thousand and sixteen. There, so at 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:48.080 least do a lot of those veteran players in the 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:50.440 roster with all that experience to go back off of. Yeah, 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:52.560 that's one of the other things that's interesting about this 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:54.400 when you look at the road trips. The Packers are 0:14:54.440 --> 0:14:58.960 going to Dallas, Uh, they won Super Bowl forty five 0:14:59.000 --> 0:15:01.480 in that building. Matt Flynn had the big comeback in 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:07.160 they had the divisional playoff victory down to the wire 0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:10.520 to beat the Cowboys in the in the NFC playoffs, 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:13.960 and then seen Rogers has the comeback, the final drive 0:15:14.360 --> 0:15:16.880 to complete the comeback at the end. That's one of 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:18.880 those where the Cowboys are gonna be looking at the 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:21.680 Packers coming in and saying, all right, enough of this, 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.640 you know, it's it's time to to to, you know, 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:27.760 stop the Packers from winning in our house here. But 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:29.640 then the flip side of it is the Packers are 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:31.560 heading to us Bank at the end of the season 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:33.400 for what could be a really really big game with 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:36.880 a lot of implications and a building where the first 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:38.960 three times the Packers have gone there it has not 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:42.440 gone well at all, three losses. Obviously an injury to 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:45.440 Rogers in that building a couple of years ago. So 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:49.520 you know, from that standpoint, there's a couple of narratives 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:52.040 to these road games on the schedule that will be 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:54.200 that will be kind of fun to talk about when 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:56.240 the time comes, and not to make light of anything, 0:15:56.280 --> 0:15:58.800 but I also go back to two thousand seventeen and 0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:01.920 the Rogers injury, and everyone thinks so much about Rogers, 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:04.720 and rightfully so, but it was almost just a comedy 0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:06.680 act after a while. I remember them talking about what 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:08.760 the training room looked like because I believe, you know, 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:12.040 Quentin Rollins left that game. I think Lane Taylor might 0:16:12.040 --> 0:16:14.440 have left that game. It just was one guy after 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:19.040 another there afterwards. So, yeah, the Packers historically, I go 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:20.600 back to my first few years on the beat. Yeah, 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:22.200 they had a rough outing in two thousand twelve, but 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:24.160 for the most part, you know, they had they did 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:26.440 find ways to have success in the Metrodome. They're trying 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:28.360 to find a way now to be able to build 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:32.520 that momentum in the new location. The biggest thing, though, Mike, 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:34.120 no matter how you cut it down, no matter how 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:36.400 you slice it, you and I can talk right until 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:38.560 we run out of oxygen in this room. But the 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:40.560 biggest key for the Packers is they have to win 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:42.560 on the road. We know the story in two thousand 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:45.160 and eighteen, they win all that time. They finally ended 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:46.880 up beating the Jets, but they had to come back 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:50.120 to do it. That's why I've said repeatedly this offseason 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:52.400 since the Packers found out that they're going to open 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:55.720 in Chicago, there's no better way to just cleanse yourself 0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:58.520 of all of that than to come out beat the 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:01.880 defending nf Senor champion and start to turn around your fortunes. Yeah, 0:17:01.960 --> 0:17:04.600 I totally agree with you. One last thing before we 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:08.160 wrap up here, West Okay, we've talked about the division games, 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:12.919 the Pat Mahomes games, the soccer stadium game and all that. Okay, 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.280 what of these games that we haven't necessarily spent a 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:17.399 lot of time on, is, in your mind sort of 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:20.200 the sleeper game, the one to the one that that 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:23.320 maybe is going to have some bigger implications when it 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:26.240 rolls around than maybe we think right now. We'll see 0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:28.840 about the implications because we don't know what the forty 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:30.680 Niners are gonna look like this year. But I really 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:33.960 think the Packers traveling there, Kyle Shanahan taking on his 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:37.879 former protege in Matt Lafleur. Matt Lafleur will be matching 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:40.480 wits with his one of his best friends not in 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:43.359 this business, in this world, in Robert Sala, who is 0:17:43.400 --> 0:17:46.119 the defensive coordinator for the forty Niners. He'll be making 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:48.320 his calls. The floor will be making his call. Sal 0:17:48.440 --> 0:17:50.159 is the guy that got him in the door with 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:55.200 Gary Kubiak the Houston Texans. So to me, I mean, yeah, 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:58.359 Jimmy Garoppolo, Aaron Rodgers. Great, you know the matchup that 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:01.440 we missed last year Popolo was injured and that Monday 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:04.240 night game at Lambe Field was c J. Bethurt So 0:18:04.640 --> 0:18:06.520 and and then the other thing. Uh, you know, Aaron 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:09.119 Rodgers has played historically pretty darn well in the San 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:11.640 Francisco area when he's you know, kind of buy his hometown, 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:14.359 had a pretty solid game whatever it was three or 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:16.800 four years ago. Now. Um, I just think there's a 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:19.040 lot of layers to that matchup, and we'll see what 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:21.560 the records are at that point. San Francisco, you really 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:23.760 don't know what to expect after the year that they had, 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:26.879 But h Kyle Shanahan and Matt le Floor close. I 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:28.720 think out of all the coaches that you talked to 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:31.320 and all the people that have said nice words about 0:18:31.600 --> 0:18:34.040 La Fleur, Shanahan is the one that is sort of 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:36.280 that he's been most in lockstep with the entire time. 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:37.959 And it'll be a good matchup. Yeah. The one I'm 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:41.880 gonna say is the Carolina game in Week ten at 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:43.879 home at Lambou Field. And there's a few reasons for 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:46.600 that one. It's the one home game that's in the 0:18:46.640 --> 0:18:48.720 midst of all those road games in the bye week 0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:52.159 and everything we talked about before. Number two. It's not 0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:55.040 every day that you get a quarterback matchup of two 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:57.199 guys who have won m vps in this league. So 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:00.360 to see Aaron Rodgers against Cam Newton, I think that's 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:02.800 a that's a marquee matchup in and of itself. But 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:06.600 the third thing, the Carolina Panthers are in this pattern 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:10.879