WEBVTT - #647 Packers Unscripted: Difficult ending 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:11.160 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:11.160 --> 0:00:14.400 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always 0:00:14.400 --> 0:00:16.919 by my trusted colleague West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:20.600 here from our studios at lambeau Field and West. Unfortunately, 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:23.279 we're here today to talk about the end of the 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:29.680 Packers season, a walk off to ten home loss to 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:32.920 the San Francisco forty Niners in the NFC Divisional Round. 0:00:33.880 --> 0:00:36.040 And I don't know where you want to start with this, 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:39.680 and this show truly is unscripted, but all I will 0:00:39.680 --> 0:00:43.120 say to start is that for a franchise that has 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:51.000 had a number of devastating playoff exits, this one was 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:56.200 in another fashion and it just gets added to the list. Yeah, 0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:58.680 the whole weekend, it was kind of wild with how 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:01.520 these games ended to in this game, between what happened 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:05.240 with Kansas City and Buffalo UM, the four divisional round 0:01:05.240 --> 0:01:07.600 games coming down to the final play of the game 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:09.920 being decided on the final snap of the game, which 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:13.560 has never happened before on divisional playoff weekend. But yes, 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:15.920 it was certainly historic in that I said it was 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:18.800 gonna be a good weekend, Mike, But unfortunately that was 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:21.240 strictly from the viewers standpoint, It wasn't strictly from a 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:25.800 Packer fan standpoint. Yeah, disappointing game. Uh. As I mentioned 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:27.319 in our show on Thursday, I was like, I was 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:29.080 kind of pushing for the Packers to win because I 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:31.479 really didn't watch much of the football games on Sunday. 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:33.920 I ended up clicking in and watching the final two 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:38.080 minutes of both games in the regulation our collige Grindhartig 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:39.360 was the one that was learning to me just the 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:42.240 craziness that was going on. But I think there's a 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:44.560 lot of guys said during locker room clean out on 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:47.400 Monday they really didn't feel like watching it, And I 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:49.880 don't blame them. I mean, it's it's a tough way 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:52.520 to go out and and certainly, as you mentioned, we've 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:56.080 covered a lot of these from two thousand eleven, uh 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:58.360 and the loss to the Giants after the fifteen and 0:01:58.400 --> 0:02:00.960 one season to what happened in volv in thirteen with 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:07.400 the Ers, and you know, don't even get into with Seattle. 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:14.640 But it's a difficult thing because defensively, this is the 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:17.240 best defense the groom of Packers have really had, and 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:19.640 at least seven years you can maybe even make an 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:23.040 argument for before that and the defense came to play, 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:26.560 they allowed six points um, with the exception of really 0:02:26.600 --> 0:02:29.120 that final drive gave them a chance to win and 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:32.440 only three points for fifty nine minutes and fifty six 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:35.919 seconds or whatever it was. Right and offensively, they come 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:39.080 out clicking, they come out looking strong. Um. Even that 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:42.280 second series, they're moving the ball and then there's the fumble. Um. 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:45.480 It was funny my friend Scott was talking to before 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:47.640 the game because I was asking about Fred, not asking 0:02:47.680 --> 0:02:49.359 what we're talking about Fred Warner and I'm like, yeah, 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:51.600 you know, Warners is a problem, and there was the 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:53.320 questions of what his health was going to be like. 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:55.480 And He's like, ah, he hasn't really made any plays 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:57.680 this year. He made a couple of big ones in 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:01.960 this game, and then certainly this special teams was a disappointment. 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:05.440 So at the end of the day, Mike, the Packers 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:07.680 had countless opportunities to win this game. They did not 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:10.600 get it done. And uh, it is going to be 0:03:10.720 --> 0:03:14.560 a a long, um thoughtful offseason here as Green Bay 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:16.880 sort of tries to regroup for this next step. Yeah, 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:19.359 and that's certainly what we heard from the players who 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:22.440 spoke to the media via zoom on Monday, and then 0:03:22.480 --> 0:03:24.960 also from the head coach you spoke, who spoke late 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:29.200 on Monday afternoon. You can you can feel the disappointment. 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:33.320 There's there's disappointment, there's shock, there's dismay um and to 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:35.840 say shocked. That's not to say that anybody was taking 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:39.240 anything for granted, but the Packers just but the Packers 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:41.400 believed in who they were. They believed they were the 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:45.360 better team. And and uh and quite frankly, you know, 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:49.520 as that game unfolded on on Saturday night, the way 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:52.200 the defense was playing, with the offense scoring a touchdown 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:54.280 on the opening drive and moving the ball in the 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:57.560 second drive before the fumble, you just felt like the 0:03:57.560 --> 0:03:59.280 Packers were going to be in command of this thing. 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:01.320 They were going to roll it right. But yet it 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:04.000 never you know, the block field goal at the end 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:06.720 of the first half makes it still just seven to nothing. 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:09.800 The Packers never even made it a two score game. 0:04:09.920 --> 0:04:12.720 It was it was seven and nothing, then seven to three. 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:14.600 Then they have a chance to make it a two 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:16.680 score game. You get goal to go right, but then 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:19.880 a false start kind of messes up. I think I 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:22.520 think the Packers wanted to try to pound Aaron Jones 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:24.359 there from the five yard line, but you get the 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:26.800 false start, you're pushed back to the ten, you have 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:28.560 to throw, you don't get it, you end up kicking 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:31.039 a field goal. Still a one score game, ten to three. 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:36.719 UM the Packers had numerous, numerous opportunities, and as much 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:39.400 as it felt like they should have had control of 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:43.760 the game early, it still comes down to you have 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:45.719 to be as we talked about on this show and 0:04:45.760 --> 0:04:48.520 in final thoughts and everything else, you still in these games. 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:50.560 You have to be the better team in the fourth quarter. 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:52.840 You have to be the better team at crunch time 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:57.280 in order to win playoff games. And UH, and you 0:04:57.320 --> 0:05:01.479 know crunch time was the final drive was really when 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:04.120 when the defense had I guess I would say it's 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:06.720 only real hiccup because certainly getting a fourth and one 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:10.440 stop with six minutes to go at the twenty yard line, 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:13.560 that's a huge, huge play right there. That is the 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:17.159 defense rising up and UH and making something happen. But 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:20.640 then the offense faltered, The special teams faltered with the 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:25.120 block punt, the offense faltered again, and UH and the 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:28.640 defense gave up just enough yards for Robbie Gold to 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:31.680 to have a makeuple field goal and what turned into 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:33.680 a little bit of a snow globe game there in 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:36.599 the second half. The snow was falling, the windshills were dropping, 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:39.839 but the forty five yard or from from one of 0:05:39.839 --> 0:05:42.000 the best cold weather kickers to do it was true 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.440 and and that was all she wrote. Such an idiotic 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:46.839 move by the Chicago Bears to cut that guy. Isn't 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:50.440 that amazing? Um, what what a find he's been and 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:52.840 he's in a six year now. I think with San Francisco, 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:56.080 um and go dude. As soon as Gold came on, 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:58.320 I I'm not saying I was completely like, ah, this 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:01.039 is pretty much over, but I mean, I I've said 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:02.599 it for a long time. I think him and Mason 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:05.080 don't get enough credit for what they've accomplished in their careers. 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:07.440 And certainly robb he's gone out to San Francisco and 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:09.839 a warmer climate and still performed really well. But I 0:06:09.880 --> 0:06:12.520 certainly wasn't thinking he was going to miss I was 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:16.080 just so unless there was, you know, a major gust 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:18.880 of winds suddenly that was gonna that was gonna misdirect 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:23.040 that that football. But um, this has not Soldier field 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:25.920 where the winds can get really crazy. So that wasn't 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:28.159 in the card. No, And and I I have a 0:06:28.160 --> 0:06:31.720 hard time putting this on the defense still because ultimately 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:34.600 I know they're disappointed. And certainly Samuel gets that nine 0:06:34.680 --> 0:06:36.560 yard run and and that kind of put him for 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:40.440 sure in kicking range. But the fact of the matter 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:43.080 is the defense rarely ruptured in this game. I'm trying 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:45.360 to think if they even had a play over twenty 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:48.920 yards offensively for San Francisco eighteen yards throughout the course 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:50.560 of this game. It was close. I think Kittle might 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:53.320 have had one, right, Yeah, but before the before the 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:56.120 fourth and one stop, Kittle had I believe a twenty 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:59.000 four yard catch and run that was actually on a 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:01.359 third and eleven. It was really one of the only 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:04.800 third and long until the Samuel run at the end, 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:08.360 the only real third and long breakdown the Packers defense had. 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:11.200 Um Kittle had about a twenty four yard reception. But 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:13.200 then the next series is the one that ended with 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:15.320 the fourth and one stop, and the defense got the 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:18.800 ball back to Aaron Rodgers. Yeah, and defensively, I just 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:21.320 I was so impressed by you know, Rashawn Gary was 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:23.880 just the man amongst boys out there, said, Darius Smith 0:07:23.920 --> 0:07:26.000 comes out. He only played nineteen snaps, but gets a 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:28.120 sack on his first play. I thought Joe Barry showed 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:30.400 a lot of creativity with the packages. Matt Floor said, 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:32.760 he challenged him to come up with some different looks 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:35.400 at San Francisco hasn't seen before. He definitely did that. 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:38.440 Um But but ultimately after the fourth and one stop, 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:40.200 you have to be able to move the ball, and 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:43.400 unfortunately for Green Bay, I think one thing we learned 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:47.840 in this game was just how important A. J. Dillon 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:49.840 is to this offense and how important he's going to 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:52.440 be moving forward. And that's not a discredit to Aaron Jones. 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:54.760 Aaron Jones had what a hundred and seventy total yards 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:58.040 in this game, I mean, really strong performance. But when 0:07:58.080 --> 0:08:02.080 they needed to pound the football, unfortunately they lose Dylan 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:05.440 to the fractured rib on the kickoff return. Uh and 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:07.360 and that kind of took away that dimension of their 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:09.640 offense and and certainly weren't able to push the ball 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:12.360 down field. I know the play a lot of fans 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:13.920 are gonna be talking about for a lot of long 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:17.000 time is that the third and eleven Rogers tries the 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:19.760 pass down field to two Adams and double coverage when 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:23.760 it appears that Lazard's coming free over the middle. That's 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:26.400 the game in its hindsight, and that's the way these 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:30.040 things roll sometimes. I still felt, you know, even though 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:32.080 the offense kind of fell into some dul rooms there, 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:35.280 even though the defense, I honestly felt the whole time 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:37.400 that as long as the Packers don't turn over this football, 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:40.280 they're going to be Okay. This is the type of 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:42.079 game where I think they were playing good enough that 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:44.320 they're gonna be able to hold off the forty niners. 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.839 The block punt happens, the block punt goes for a touchdown. Yeah, 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:50.600 I mean, the block punt was the equivalent of a turnover. 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:53.360 Doesn't go as a turnover in the statistics, but it 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:55.280 was the same thing as a scoop and score or 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:57.120 a pick six. I mean, there's five minutes left in 0:08:57.160 --> 0:09:00.280 the game, the Packers are up by seven points, and yes, 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:03.120 you would hope after the big fourth and one stop. 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.720 You and I am you know, we we were sitting there, 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:08.679 We're thinking the same thing. It's like, Okay, no matter 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:11.240 how many minutes you can kill or whatever, but at 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:13.719 ten to three, you go down and get and kick 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:16.640 a field goal, thirteen to three, a two score game, 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:20.080 and it's over. For all of the offensive struggles. The 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:22.480 offense just needed one drive in the fourth quarter, whether 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:25.679 it was that one or after the after the block punt. 0:09:25.800 --> 0:09:28.800 And uh, not only could the offense not put together 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:32.120 a drive, it couldn't even get a first down. And uh. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:35.760 And that's what that's what's so so disappointing about the exit. 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:37.360 And you know, I mean it was it was on 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:39.960 you know, the face, the tone of voice of Aaron Rodgers, 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:42.960 Matt Lafleur after the game. The this is a darn 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:46.880 good offense with really really good offensive players, and when 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:50.679 when they absolutely needed it and everyone expected it, it 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:53.320 couldn't deliver. And and that's that's hard to swallow. That 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:55.480 that that's tough to swallow when you're really good at 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:58.600 what you do and you can't do it when it 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:02.720 matters most that can petitors these guys are, that's that's 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.239 tough to take. And uh and and they have unfortunately, 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:06.920 they're gonna have a long time in the off season 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:08.640 to think about it. Yeah, And I think that's the 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:10.600 hardest part with these things like I was thinking about 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:14.360 as we walked in the studio. Um, you know, it's January, 0:10:14.679 --> 0:10:17.160 the time in which we're taping this, basically six months 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:19.280 since the start of training camp. It's almost like that 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:22.040 intermediate point where six months removed from the start of 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:23.960 training camp. It's six months away from the start of 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:26.360 training camp. There's a lot of time in between there 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:30.160 to have to to ponder this. Um. Certainly, there were 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:32.000 some great stories this year and in the in the 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:34.079 coming days, you know, we'll have another one of these 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:36.280 and we'll review some of that. But you know, to 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:39.559 have the Russeul Douglas is step up, the Devondre Campbell's, 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:42.760 to see a guy like Dennis Kelly uh Not play 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:45.120 half the season and then be the right tackle against 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:47.640 Nick Bosa in the most important game of the season. 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:51.040 Those those things I think made this year feel a 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:53.880 little bit different because certainly the Packers have probably had 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:57.920 deeper teams if it, definitely had healthier teams, but where 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:00.520 they needed guys and veterans and young here Is alike 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:03.160 to really respond. They did that. And you got your 0:11:03.160 --> 0:11:05.920 Alexander back for this game in a limited fashion. You've 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:09.520 got Sadarius back, Whitney Merciless had the freaking harness on 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:14.240 playing in this game. It just felt like things were 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:17.760 finally turning for Green Bay. But unfortunately, as we always 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:21.160 realize with these things, it ends suddenly and this is 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:23.560 the end of this journey. And as I kind of 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:27.120 close our Insider Inbox with on Monday into Tuesday Mornings edition, 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:30.120 and you just got to start the other the next climb. 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:33.480 As difficult as that is, that's the way this game works. Unfortunately, 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:35.920 it's the best of one scenario. Mike and I've talked 0:11:35.920 --> 0:11:38.559 about it so many times, and for how hard these 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:40.480 teams have to work to get a playoff spot, to 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:43.000 get a bye, to to get that it ultimately comes 0:11:43.000 --> 0:11:45.199 down to those sixty seconds, and in Green Bas case, 0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:48.880 it didn't go in their favor. Yea to review. A 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:51.960 few thoughts from Matt Lafleur on Monday when he gave 0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:57.120 his his conducted his season ending media session over Zoom. Obviously, 0:11:57.120 --> 0:11:59.280 he was asked about Aaron Rodgers in the future of 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:04.040 Aaron Rodger, Matt Lafleur saying that he and the front office, um, 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:06.960 everybody's on the same page and wanting Aaron Rodgers to 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:10.400 come back. They are going to give him his give 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:12.520 him his space to contemplate what he wants to do. 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:15.880 Rodgers has talked about that retirement is possibly on the table, 0:12:16.000 --> 0:12:19.440 though he still says um the competitive fire burns, he 0:12:19.480 --> 0:12:21.400 does want to continue playing. He doesn't want to be 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:23.760 part of a rebuild. If that's where Green Bay has headed. 0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:27.120 Matt Lafleur trying to reassure with his words that they're 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:30.120 for all of the contract and salary cap challenges. There 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:32.400 is a plan. There is a plan that they don't 0:12:32.400 --> 0:12:35.520 have to blow this whole thing up, that they feel 0:12:36.120 --> 0:12:38.560 they can still be a competitive team and keep things 0:12:38.600 --> 0:12:42.840 going in the right direction. Um if if they can, um, 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:45.080 if they can bring Aaron Rodgers back, and if he 0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:48.720 wants to continue playing for Green Bay. Um, I don't 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:50.760 think this is based on what Rodgers has said, it 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:52.760 doesn't sound like this is going to take long to 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:55.880 sort out. There there's going to be an answer. We're 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:57.920 not going to be wondering in the middle of July 0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:02.199 like last year, oh, where things are headed with Aaron Rodgers. 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:04.160 But but right now it's sort of it's sort of 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:06.520 like everything is on hold and it's just wait and 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:10.760 uh and find out what the presumptive back to back 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:13.079 m v P quarterback is going to decide to do. 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:15.840 To me, there there's really two scenarios here that in 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:18.719 my mind as far as how this thing should go. Um, 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:22.440 if Rogers decides, you know, pon some some reflection and 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:24.040 looking at things, that this is it, this is the 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:26.000 time to go out, you know, could very well end 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:27.480 up getting his fourth m v P here in a 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:29.120 couple of weeks. If he wants to end, you know, 0:13:29.160 --> 0:13:32.520 at the peak of his position. I wouldn't blame him 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:34.800 for that at all. But if he does want to 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:37.000 play again, if he wants to come back for year eighteen, 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.199 I still think it has to be here. Well, we'll 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:41.360 see what happens. I understand there's a lot of things 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:42.880 with the contract and that and things they have to 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:46.840 figure out. But I was watching those games over the weekend, Mike, 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:48.920 and I understand how this history has gone and how 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:51.280 things have been in the playoffs for Green Bay recently. 0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:54.559 But it's just it's so I thought about I watched 0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:57.880 Josh Allen with the Bills, right, and it's not about 0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:00.439 how Josh Allen plays a position, Aaron Roch plays decision. 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:04.040 I thought about how many quarterbacks the Buffalo Bills had 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:07.160 to go through between Jim Kelly and Josh Allen to 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:10.200 get to that moment, right, I thought about the issues 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:12.000 that Kansas City went through for a lot of years. 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:14.040 Kansas City wasn't always the team that's going to all 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:16.199 these a f C Championship games. There are a lot 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:19.760 of years in between there where you had, you know, shoot, 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:23.400 random quarterbacks just kind of ended up being the starter 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.720 there for for some time, and and they couldn't they 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:30.840 couldn't find their next guy. Uh really, I guess unless 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:35.160 I'm forgetting somebody since what Joe Montana Elvis Gerback was 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:36.880 in there a little bit. The point I'm trying to 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:39.720 illustrate is that it's difficult to find franchise quarterbacks and 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:41.840 if you feel like this team still wants to compete 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:43.880 for a championship, which Matt Laflour that was probably the 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:46.200 biggest thing that came out of his forty three minute presser. 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:49.600 They're not rebuilding, They're not. That isn't where they're looking 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:53.880 at right now. Realistically, probably what's going to have to happen, though, 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:56.920 he said, difficult decisions will have to be made and 0:14:56.920 --> 0:14:59.280 they're gonna have to probably end up making some decisions 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:02.200 at some veteran positions if they want to go with 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:04.040 some of the younger guys that have been coming up. 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:06.200 That was the one thing we learned about this season, Mike, 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:08.160 because there's a lot of young guys on this roster, 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.600 specifically on the defensive side of the ball that stepped 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:14.320 into bigger roles this year and really grabbed that opportunity 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:16.320 you know, by the horns and made the most of it. 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:18.280 So and the reality of how it works in this 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:20.400 league is younger is cheaper, right, And when you have 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:22.840 a salary cap to deal with, if you have young 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:25.440 players that you feel can step in and do the 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:28.040 job and they don't, they don't take up as much 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:31.000 cap space. Those are That's what's called the difficult decisions 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:34.360 because it's not saying that that veteran guy who has 0:15:34.400 --> 0:15:36.680 the bigger contract that he can't play and that he 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:40.400 can't help you. Um. It's it's making the decision based 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:42.760 on all of the factors, right, Um, you know, all 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:46.440 of all of the financial ramifications and what each decision 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:49.040 relative to the salary cap means for all the other 0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:51.480 positions on the roster. It's this big puzzle that needs 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:54.400 to be put together, and you know that this is 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:57.680 this is something they've been you know, they're not talking 0:15:57.720 --> 0:16:00.600 about it publicly, but you know they know the situation 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:03.280 with the contracts, the money they pushed out in order 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:06.720 to keep this group, the most of the group together, 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:09.800 in order to make this run at it. They knew 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:12.640 exactly what they were doing, but they but they didn't 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:16.280 just do it. They didn't just do it and then say, Okay, well, 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:18.400 we'll deal with the rest of it later. They know 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:21.280 there are things that are going to change over the 0:16:21.280 --> 0:16:24.359 course of how certain guys play and and and potentially 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:26.880 injuries and how things play out. But they have a 0:16:26.960 --> 0:16:30.160 plan for what they're going to do with all of 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:33.480 the contract situation, the financial ramifications. But as both of 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:37.680 us have said, with Aaron Rodgers situation, and then with 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:41.640 Davante Adams and him having an expiring contract and and 0:16:41.720 --> 0:16:45.160 being on the brink of unrestricted free agency, those are 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:49.000 the first two dominoes here, um the quarterback and the 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:52.400 best wide receiver in the league. And whichever way those 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:56.320 go is going to determine. You know, now there are 0:16:56.320 --> 0:16:58.560 those who are saying, well, Aaron Rodgers is going to 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:01.040 want to know what the other moves are. Well, As 0:17:01.080 --> 0:17:03.080 I said, they have a plan, and they will present 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:05.760 that plan to him. I believe they will show him 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:08.080 this is what we plan to do. If you are here. 0:17:08.960 --> 0:17:11.000 If Aaron Rodgers is not here, there may be a 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:13.399 different plan than in terms of how they go about it. 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:16.679 But um, the first two decisions that have to be 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:18.800 made and have to get settled our number twelve and 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:21.600 number seventeen. Yeah, and those are those are the biggest dominoes, 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:23.760 the heaviest dominoes, And once those fall, I think the 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:25.760 rest of the offseason sort of takes care of itself. 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:30.000 In that regard that. The thing about the Rogers scenario, 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:31.680 there's gonna be a lot of discussion about it in 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:34.280 the days and weeks ahead. I've been saying this for 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:35.720 a number of years now, and I want to make 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:38.040 this abundantly clear because I've seen a lot of comparisons 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:40.359 towards the end of the far era in two thousand 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:45.479 seven and things of that nature. Rogers pretty much has 0:17:45.520 --> 0:17:48.400 always been pretty transparent with what his intentions are. Even 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:50.320 last year when there there was those questions of whether 0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:52.640 or not he was coming back, I never really got 0:17:52.680 --> 0:17:54.280 the feeling of it was he was going to do 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:56.119 that or he was going to be done. It just 0:17:56.160 --> 0:17:58.359 seemed like he probably was gonna end up playing. It 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:00.440 just matters, you know, if they could make it work here, 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:03.880 which they did. I don't feel like this is going 0:18:03.880 --> 0:18:06.600 to be a situation that really gets you know, strung along, 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:09.359 let alone to July. But I'm saying even the months ahead, 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:11.280 I think the Packers will have a pretty clear idea. 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:14.040 I think Rogers is very clearheaded and focused on what 0:18:14.080 --> 0:18:16.480 he wants to do. Um, you gotta give him his 0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:18.040 time a lot of let him sort it out. But 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:21.440 I feel like because the question kept getting asked, well, 0:18:21.520 --> 0:18:23.520 you know, developing your plan for the off season and 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:25.760 those sort of things, they'll figure that out. Yeah, you 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:27.399 know that these next couple of weeks, they're gonna look 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:29.639 at what other NFL teams are doing. They're gonna self scoult. 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:31.280 They certainly have to figure out what the coaching staff 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:34.080 situation is going to be, where all those things are. 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:37.560 That's that's what the end of January into early februaries about. Yeah, 0:18:37.640 --> 0:18:39.919 and and Matt and Matt Lafleur did say he hadn't 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:42.879 as of Monday, afternoon, he hadn't even gotten to the 0:18:42.920 --> 0:18:46.080 evaluation of the coaching staff. It's for for those for 0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:49.000 those who don't understand, it's a very methodical process that 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:51.840 every head coach goes through at the end of every season, 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:55.000 where the meets with all of his individual coaches, there's 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:58.240 an evaluation process. Step by step, they go through everything 0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:01.480 and then decisions are made and so um for those 0:19:01.520 --> 0:19:04.119 who are wondering what might be happening with the coaching staff, 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:06.959 whether whether it's in regard to special teams or if 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:09.480 Nathaniel Hackett moves on he's a finalist for the Denver 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:12.439