Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford, joined by the one and only
Speaker 1: Wes Hodkowits were coming to you here from our studios
Speaker 1: at lambeau Field West. It's Friday, our final show of
Speaker 1: the week as Packers Seahawks the NFC Divisional Playoffs Sunday,
Speaker 1: five pm Central Time. Kickoff at lambau Field is almost
Speaker 1: upon us and we will definitely get to our end
Speaker 1: of the week keys to Victory a little bit later,
Speaker 1: But I want to touch on a couple of other subjects. First. One,
Speaker 1: we've spent a lot of this week talking about the
Speaker 1: young guys on this Packers roster who are gonna be
Speaker 1: making their playoff debuts, and the messages they've gotten from
Speaker 1: the veteran players about how to handle the emotions, about
Speaker 1: how to just have the right perspective coming into a
Speaker 1: new situation, so to speak. But we've also heard from
Speaker 1: the same veterans talking about guys like Aaron Rodgers and
Speaker 1: Brian Bulaga and Tremont Williams about how special this opportunity
Speaker 1: here is where the Packers went thirteen and three, got
Speaker 1: a first round by you've put yourself two games from
Speaker 1: a Super Bowl. You're getting at least one of those
Speaker 1: here at home against the Seattle Seahawks. And uh, they
Speaker 1: really do have an appreciation for just how special this
Speaker 1: chance is and they don't want to let it go.
Speaker 1: And I love the fact that I wrote about this
Speaker 1: on Packers dot Com for one of our stories this week.
Speaker 1: What I love is they all have three very different stories.
Speaker 1: When you look at Rogers Bolaga in Tremont Williams, Yeah,
Speaker 1: starting off with Tremon this is a guy that left
Speaker 1: for five years. Uh. We talked so much about the
Speaker 1: NFC Championship game and how that game ended, and it's funny.
Speaker 1: He was asked the question again this week if that
Speaker 1: moment sticks with them, the end of that game sticks
Speaker 1: with him, and Allway said, doesn't stick with me at all,
Speaker 1: because if you understand anthing about Truman, Williams won. He's
Speaker 1: played over two NFL games at this point. But more
Speaker 1: than that, I mean he went and had another career. Basically,
Speaker 1: he went and was in Cleveland for two years. He
Speaker 1: was in Arizona after it almost looked like maybe that
Speaker 1: was gonna be the end, and he comes back to
Speaker 1: Green Bay and it's been two seasons with Green Bay
Speaker 1: and now he's back in the postseason. And he said
Speaker 1: this week that it's an opportunity not just to avenge
Speaker 1: something from two thousand four teen, but it's giving him
Speaker 1: a chance to write a different ending to his time
Speaker 1: in Green Bay. That means the world to him. It means,
Speaker 1: you know, for him to be thirty six years old
Speaker 1: and still playing at the high level that he is, Uh,
Speaker 1: that's an incredible accomplishment. Bolaga. Here's a guy that was
Speaker 1: the youngest player in NFL history to start is Super
Speaker 1: Bowl at twenty one years old and nine months or
Speaker 1: whatever it was at right tackle, and now here he
Speaker 1: is in year ten, one of the most veteran players
Speaker 1: on this team and getting a chance to get back
Speaker 1: into a run. And I remember asking him this after
Speaker 1: Miami or Minnesota excuse me, And the question was again
Speaker 1: of him this week, what that two years? How you
Speaker 1: just appreciate things a little bit more when you've gone
Speaker 1: to the playoffs seven years in a row or whatever
Speaker 1: it was, and then suddenly you don't go for two years.
Speaker 1: That's that's an incredible thing to be able to have
Speaker 1: this opportunity again. It really speaks to him and his
Speaker 1: leadership and how he's approached this thing to be able
Speaker 1: to do it. Interesting slip of the tongue you had.
Speaker 1: They're saying money instead of Minnesota. By the way, I
Speaker 1: just thought i'd throw that. There's a little bit of
Speaker 1: a it's a little bit of remember that one if
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks here well, And with regard to
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers too, he had he had some very interesting
Speaker 1: comments at his locker after Wednesday's practice, and one of
Speaker 1: those that obviously stood out was he was asked about, Okay, here,
Speaker 1: you know, been out of the playoffs for a couple
Speaker 1: of years, You're back in the postseason, a chance to
Speaker 1: get to a second super Bowl. Everybody talks about the
Speaker 1: legacy and all that, especially with a guy who's built
Speaker 1: a Hall of Fame career to this point. And he
Speaker 1: was asked to well, how much is how much is
Speaker 1: that second super Bowl, a second championship on your mind?
Speaker 1: And he said, it's on my mind every day, you know,
Speaker 1: I mean, and he's just he was just being honest
Speaker 1: now in saying that. He's not saying it it's it's
Speaker 1: like an overwhelming thought or anything like that, Like it
Speaker 1: doesn't it's not a burden or it doesn't drag him down,
Speaker 1: so to speak. But it just speaks to when an
Speaker 1: opportunity like this comes along, how much that how much
Speaker 1: that is top of mind for a player like Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1: I mean, he knows, he knows as well as anybody
Speaker 1: that a second Super Bowl as a quarterback puts you
Speaker 1: in a different category from so many other quarterbacks who
Speaker 1: have that ring. And he's obviously got one. He's looking
Speaker 1: for number two, and he knows this this is a
Speaker 1: different this is a different team. He hasn't had to
Speaker 1: be m v P quarterback Aaron Rodgers for the Packers
Speaker 1: to go thirteen and three. And he's also been fine
Speaker 1: with that. He's when he talks about accepting the roles
Speaker 1: and everything, he's done that himself as well. Now that
Speaker 1: being said, we all know if if Aaron Rodgers can
Speaker 1: find a little bit of that m v P magic
Speaker 1: that we saw back in back seasons like that, that
Speaker 1: could go a long way here for the Packers in
Speaker 1: in the month of January and uh, and we'll just
Speaker 1: have to see if he can, if he can summon it,
Speaker 1: because he could make this really special. Yeah, you're absolutely right.
Speaker 1: And so many points that you make, they are incredibly
Speaker 1: vailed and true. And and I go back to a
Speaker 1: couple of things with Rogers, because when you cover this
Speaker 1: team long enough, you remember Aaron Rodgers years old. Um,
Speaker 1: certainly you remember him at seven when he won a
Speaker 1: Super Bowl, and the perspective that those years have given him.
Speaker 1: I always it's funny because we talked so much about
Speaker 1: beast mode, right with Marshawn Lay, there's a zen mode
Speaker 1: with Aaron Rodgers that I've noticed over the years, and
Speaker 1: more often than not, when he's in that kind of
Speaker 1: really deep reflection, he starts playing some of his best ball.
Speaker 1: And I think it's just that overall awareness and and
Speaker 1: he's not going to get too higher, too low. He's
Speaker 1: gonna understand what's in front of him and what the
Speaker 1: team must accomplish to get to their goals. And he's
Speaker 1: very in tune with the fact that two more wins
Speaker 1: here gets him back to a Super Bowl, gets this
Speaker 1: team back to a Super Bowl in a chance to
Speaker 1: compete for the biggest prize of them all. So they're
Speaker 1: not really too concerned right now what's happened or what
Speaker 1: the stats are. As Rogers said at this point in
Speaker 1: your career, when you get to my age and when
Speaker 1: you're sitting in this chair, you just want to win championships.
Speaker 1: That's the thing that he's looking to put up on
Speaker 1: the shelf right now, and he has a great opportunity
Speaker 1: to do it with this roster. You've heard him and
Speaker 1: it was right there he was sitting next to Larry
Speaker 1: McCarron in the studio a couple of days ago. Outlying
Speaker 1: this year and what has made this team special. Rogers
Speaker 1: has said countless times this is one of the most
Speaker 1: fun seasons he's had, just based on the way that
Speaker 1: this team has come together, whether it was your Marcedes
Speaker 1: Lewis's or your Al Lazars who come out of nowhere
Speaker 1: to become a big part of this roster. Those relationships
Speaker 1: in in personalities that that really goes a long way
Speaker 1: for a football team in realistically, Mike, all it takes
Speaker 1: is one game to find your stroke, to find where
Speaker 1: you are and what you want to do. And I
Speaker 1: just I feel I get this feeling going into this
Speaker 1: game that we're just going to see the best version
Speaker 1: of Aaron Rodgers. Yeah, well that that would really be
Speaker 1: That would really be something because as We've talked about
Speaker 1: the Packers defense kind of re establishing itself down the stretch,
Speaker 1: the special teams finding a return game late in the season.
Speaker 1: The Packers offenses, i wrote about last week, has been
Speaker 1: on the verge so many times in the last month,
Speaker 1: crossing the fifty yard line but not coming away with points.
Speaker 1: Been on the verge of putting up so many more
Speaker 1: points on the board that if they can take that
Speaker 1: extra step, that's what you're looking for from this Packers
Speaker 1: offense in the month of January. And the big line
Speaker 1: that Rogers said it was to Larry is that whatever
Speaker 1: it takes unwilling to do for this team to win.
Speaker 1: And it's I'm not saying that's going to go on
Speaker 1: a T shirt or end up above his locker and
Speaker 1: seashells or anything like Relaxed did, but it is that
Speaker 1: is this team. It's whatever it takes to get that win.
Speaker 1: And they've done it all season. This is a supreme
Speaker 1: test that they have on Sunday. Seattle's won a lot
Speaker 1: of the games is a very similar way, but there's
Speaker 1: a confidence there when you've done it the way they've
Speaker 1: done it all year, that you know what we can
Speaker 1: do it again. Yeah, Well, one other topic I want
Speaker 1: to touch on before we get to Keys to Victory,
Speaker 1: and I promised that we will get there. But in
Speaker 1: the midst of all of the playoff hoop law this
Speaker 1: week and the divisional game being here in Green Bay
Speaker 1: and on the horizon first time in five years the
Speaker 1: Packers are hosting this round of the playoffs, we've actually
Speaker 1: neglected to discuss another big piece of news, which is
Speaker 1: that former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy has been hired
Speaker 1: by Jerry Jones to coach the Dallas Cowboys and um,
Speaker 1: a move that that seemed to happen very quickly over
Speaker 1: the weekend and then was announced a little bit earlier
Speaker 1: this week and made official by Dallas and Mike McCarthy
Speaker 1: getting a five year contract. First of all, congratulations, hats
Speaker 1: off to Mike McCarthy. I wish him well. I'm really
Speaker 1: glad he's getting another opportunity to coach in the NFL.
Speaker 1: I think we knew that this would this would happen,
Speaker 1: and uh, I'm really really interested too to watch him
Speaker 1: work from afar with a team that is that's in
Speaker 1: good shape, a roster that's in very good shape, and
Speaker 1: the expectations to move forward quickly are there. What are
Speaker 1: your thoughts on on McCarthy landing the job in Dallas
Speaker 1: without a shadow of a doubt he landed the best
Speaker 1: free the opening in terms of position question, I think
Speaker 1: when you when you walk into a situation, you know,
Speaker 1: much like Matt Lafleur did last year, where you have
Speaker 1: the quarterback in place and you have the running back
Speaker 1: in place and a lot of talent around those two players,
Speaker 1: good things can happen. And I think you can even
Speaker 1: see and just listen to him talking to his news
Speaker 1: conference how energized he is to work with the young
Speaker 1: quarterback again like Dak Prescott in trying to help him,
Speaker 1: you know, ascend to that next level that I think
Speaker 1: a lot of people feel like he has that potential
Speaker 1: to actually accomplish. And then for him, you know, he
Speaker 1: was here for as long as he was and accomplished
Speaker 1: so much in Green Bay, and I think as years
Speaker 1: where on, more and more people will appreciate those accomplishments
Speaker 1: because there was a lot of winning that happened in
Speaker 1: the tooth thousand tens and McCarthy had a lot to
Speaker 1: do with that. For him to get another chance with
Speaker 1: another iconic franchise. I think it's a tremendous opportunity for
Speaker 1: him and their family. You could tell how much it
Speaker 1: meant to him so to mean to be able to
Speaker 1: get another shot at this. I think it's gonna be
Speaker 1: really cool. And as I tweeted afterwards in my congratulations
Speaker 1: to him, the National Football League is much better with
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy coaching in it, So it's no question back
Speaker 1: here and interested to see what he puts together for
Speaker 1: a staff. Well, a couple of things that I think
Speaker 1: are pretty cool. One is that with the change that's
Speaker 1: gone on in the NFC East, that division now has
Speaker 1: three coaches who have been to Super Bowls, with Ron
Speaker 1: Rivera taking over Washington, Mike McCarthy taking over in Dallas,
Speaker 1: and then obviously Doug Peterson, who won a Super Bowl
Speaker 1: with Philadelphia. So suddenly there's a powerhouse lineup of coaches
Speaker 1: in the NFC East, which was, you know, considered essentially
Speaker 1: the worst division in football in two thousand and nineteen.
Speaker 1: So that's very interesting. The other thing, and I was
Speaker 1: I had this conversation briefly with Rob Demovski this week
Speaker 1: from ESPN, who you and I have both known for
Speaker 1: a long time. We both worked with him in previous
Speaker 1: places in our careers. You know, how many guys get
Speaker 1: the opportunity to manage the Yankees and the Dodgers for
Speaker 1: the coach the Lakers and the Celtics. I mean, Mike
Speaker 1: McCarthy has coached the Packers and now he's going to
Speaker 1: coach the Cowboys. I mean this, this is this is
Speaker 1: really really unique in history. I think it's a tribute
Speaker 1: to him and the presence that he commands and his
Speaker 1: accomplishments and the demand that there is out there for
Speaker 1: a coach of his of his caliber, and Jerry Jones
Speaker 1: saying he felt it was just very fortuitous that a
Speaker 1: coach like McCarthy was available at this moment for the
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys with where their team is. But when you
Speaker 1: think about, as you said, iconic franchises, the fact that
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy now in his career, is going to have
Speaker 1: coached the Packers and the Cowboys, I just think that's
Speaker 1: really cool. It is it's really cool. And again, it
Speaker 1: doesn't happen every day because even some of the great
Speaker 1: coaches who have come through and have had success, one
Speaker 1: or two of those ops might not have been really
Speaker 1: seen as like high profile jobs. I mean, these are
Speaker 1: two of the best, if not the best jobs in
Speaker 1: football right now when you look at the opportunity, the resources,
Speaker 1: and obviously the history of both of those franchises. To
Speaker 1: your first point, I agree with you too. It's very
Speaker 1: interesting to see what's happened with the NFC East. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it reminds me a lot of when Joe Gibbs came
Speaker 1: out of retirement to go back to Washington and you
Speaker 1: had Gibbs, you had Tom Coughlin, you had Andy Reid,
Speaker 1: and then Wade Phillips, I believe at the time, was
Speaker 1: the head coach of the Dallas Covils. So to see
Speaker 1: kind of those powerhouse sort of coaches go in there. Obviously,
Speaker 1: Joe Judges is kind of unproven at this point. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's the he's the new kid on the block, so
Speaker 1: to speak. Yeah, but but I think there is a
Speaker 1: lot of star power there. And obviously they're trying to
Speaker 1: pull that division back up because I think everybody can
Speaker 1: pretty much agree it was the poorest division in two
Speaker 1: thousand nineteen, and you know, they want to get it
Speaker 1: back up to what they feel as a higher level. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and we'll see it may not take long with those
Speaker 1: guys in charge of of those franchises. Um all right, well,
Speaker 1: Packer Seahawks is almost upon us here West and we
Speaker 1: do need to discuss keys to victory. I know we
Speaker 1: touched on a lot of different angles with regards to
Speaker 1: this matchup throughout the course of the week. So as
Speaker 1: far as what's it going to take for the Packers
Speaker 1: to win this game and advanced to the NFC Championship,
Speaker 1: where do you start? I'm gonna start on the ground, Mike.
Speaker 1: It was the first column that I wrote this week
Speaker 1: within Box. It has to start on the ground. You
Speaker 1: have to get Aaron Jones going and Jamal Williams going.
Speaker 1: It's not optional this week. I just think when you
Speaker 1: look at the real there's so many statistics that are
Speaker 1: so similar between these two teams, except when you look
Speaker 1: at the ground games. Right now, Marshawn Lynch is an
Speaker 1: incredibly accomplished running back. He has some questions to answer
Speaker 1: after not playing football for the better part of the
Speaker 1: last year. Travis Homer same thing, being a six round rookie.
Speaker 1: On the other side here, Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams
Speaker 1: have been the bell co backs for this team for
Speaker 1: three years now. Aaron Jones had a career defining season.
Speaker 1: Jamal Williams has played very well when he's had his
Speaker 1: opportunities as well. Packers are seven and oh this season.
Speaker 1: They are undefeated. When either of those guys goes over
Speaker 1: a hundred yards rushing, you need to be able to
Speaker 1: establish that to win this football game, because it's not
Speaker 1: just about the ground game. It's not just about what
Speaker 1: the weather might be like on Sunday. It's also the
Speaker 1: consideration of game management and time management. I feel like
Speaker 1: this is a game in which possessions are going to
Speaker 1: be at a premium and you want to protect the football.
Speaker 1: If those two guys produce and do just that and
Speaker 1: protecting the football, I feel pretty strongly that the Packers
Speaker 1: stand to win this ball game. Yeah. I have certainly
Speaker 1: no argument with that as a top priority and a
Speaker 1: key to victory. You went back to something you said
Speaker 1: at the beginning of the week, so I'm going to
Speaker 1: do the same thing. I remember sitting on my couch
Speaker 1: working on the Monday Insider inbox after right after the
Speaker 1: Seattle Philadelphia game finished up on Sunday, and of course
Speaker 1: the questions are coming in Okay, what's it going to
Speaker 1: take for the Packers to beat the Seahawks? What do
Speaker 1: they have to focus on? And I sort of just
Speaker 1: off the top of my head jokingly said, you know,
Speaker 1: these are my A B c's and I'm gonna call
Speaker 1: them the w M c's of this game. And that's Wilson, Metcalfe,
Speaker 1: and Clowney. To me, those are the three guys that
Speaker 1: you have to focus on if you're the Packers in
Speaker 1: order to come out victorious. Here. With Russell Wilson, it's
Speaker 1: the obvious. You can't let him or not necessarily can't
Speaker 1: let him, but you have to be ready for him
Speaker 1: to extend plays. You have to be ready to defend
Speaker 1: plays for eight, nine, ten eleven seconds if that's what
Speaker 1: it takes, and you can't let him just take off
Speaker 1: and scramble for fifty yards a crack because those are
Speaker 1: backbreaking type of place dk metcalf he single handedly almost
Speaker 1: wrecked the Philadelphia Eagles season. He had the long touchdown
Speaker 1: that gave the Eagles the two score lead I means
Speaker 1: gave the Seahawks the two score lead over the Eagles
Speaker 1: in the second half, and then he had the big
Speaker 1: third down catch at the end of the game that
Speaker 1: salted it away hundred and sixty yards receiving for a
Speaker 1: rookie in his first playoff game. DK metcalf is coming
Speaker 1: into lambeau Field riding high and with all kinds of
Speaker 1: competent confidence for a young player. And then you saw
Speaker 1: what Jadavian Clowney has done in some big games for
Speaker 1: the Seahawks. We talked about the overtime win on Monday
Speaker 1: Night Football against San Francisco about a month or a
Speaker 1: month and a half ago, and then you saw what
Speaker 1: Clowney was doing against the Philadelphia Eagles. Packers have to
Speaker 1: get this guy blocked. They have to limit his impact
Speaker 1: in the game. Those are the three guys to me
Speaker 1: that this this entire game revolves around. As much as
Speaker 1: I agree with you about Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams
Speaker 1: and obviously we'd love to see Aaron Rodgers find some
Speaker 1: of his past magic and all of that that we've
Speaker 1: talked about, those are the three guys for Seattle. If
Speaker 1: we're not talking so much about those guys on Monday,
Speaker 1: then I think we're talking about a Packers victim exactly.
Speaker 1: And that's the thing that's a credit to Russell Wilson,
Speaker 1: it's one of he's he's one of the It's the
Speaker 1: reason why he's one of the absolute best from his
Speaker 1: era right now at quarterbacks, because when the chips are
Speaker 1: down and you lose players and there's injuries, you have
Speaker 1: to work through things. He finds ways to make guys stars.
Speaker 1: And I think you've seen with DK Metcalf, a guy
Speaker 1: that was, as I've said before, I mean, was as
Speaker 1: scrutinized as any prospect as I can remember coming out.
Speaker 1: Everybody tried to pick this guy apart John Snyder, Pete Carroll,
Speaker 1: and eventually Russell Wilson said, you know what, this guy
Speaker 1: can play football and he can help us. And I
Speaker 1: think you've seen him in certain points of this season,
Speaker 1: including that game against the Eagles, really be able to dominate.
Speaker 1: You cannot let him do that if you eliminate those
Speaker 1: explosive plays that Philly couldn't. I think that's where things
Speaker 1: didn't get really difficult on Russell Wilson, him and Tyler Lockett.
Speaker 1: Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, those are one A and one
Speaker 1: B in terms of where I think the attention needs
Speaker 1: to be pointed towards. The more you stop the run,
Speaker 1: the more you pressure Wilson from up front. All of
Speaker 1: that factors into making sure it's a long afternoon forum.
Speaker 1: But at any given time, he can scramble out, he
Speaker 1: can extend to play, and he can find a receiver.
Speaker 1: For a deep game, you have to plaster the coverage.
Speaker 1: You have to be on top of that. You have
Speaker 1: to make sure that the safety coverage is where you
Speaker 1: needed to be to make sure that Wilson doesn't have
Speaker 1: that avenue to escape well. And I think explosive plays
Speaker 1: become such a big part of this. And all you
Speaker 1: have to do is look back at last weekend in
Speaker 1: you know, wild card weekend. The only way the New
Speaker 1: Orleans Saints were even in that game in the first
Speaker 1: half with the Minnesota Vikings was because of one big
Speaker 1: play that they hit when Taysom Hill fired the fifty
Speaker 1: yard passed down the field. How did the Vikings end
Speaker 1: up pulling it out in overtime? The big pass down
Speaker 1: the field to Adam Feeling that the Saints couldn't stop it.
Speaker 1: It ended their season, right. I already mentioned the big
Speaker 1: plays DK Metcalf made against the Eagles in the other
Speaker 1: NFC Wild Card game. Defensively, if you limit explosive plays
Speaker 1: and make teams go the hard way, make them take
Speaker 1: the long way down the field, you know, and you've
Speaker 1: talked about this as well, the way the way the
Speaker 1: Packers have defended in the red zone this year. You
Speaker 1: like your chances to keep to keep that point total
Speaker 1: low if you're not giving up the big chunks of
Speaker 1: yard Yeah, And that's where it goes back to some
Speaker 1: Dom Campers always talked about too. The more plays you
Speaker 1: force an offense to to actually go to score a touchdown,
Speaker 1: that's more opportunities to take away the football and his
Speaker 1: more opportunities to stop a drive. If you don't have
Speaker 1: those big chunk yardage. There's a big reason why he
Speaker 1: always talked about too, with defensive penalties and an unnecessary roughness,
Speaker 1: those fifteen yards go a long way and upping the
Speaker 1: percentage chance of that team scoring offensively if you're able
Speaker 1: to not only make them go the long way, which
Speaker 1: the Packers have at times, and it's one of the
Speaker 1: reasons why I feel like they're defensive backs doubled their
Speaker 1: interceptions from seven a year ago to fourteen this year,
Speaker 1: and whatever ended up being eighteen seventeen eighteen is an
Speaker 1: entire defense. It was making sure that they don't have
Speaker 1: those easy, big play chunk yardage to set up touchdowns.
Speaker 1: And then okay, if they do get into the red zone,
Speaker 1: how do you respond in those moments? How do you
Speaker 1: defend the short field? Packers were as good as anybody
Speaker 1: in the league at that this year, especially responding to
Speaker 1: responding to adversity defensive situations. So all that has to
Speaker 1: hold true because defensively in the red zone, Packers hold
Speaker 1: a huge advantage statists, pticularly over the Seattle Seahawks. They
Speaker 1: have to maintain that. Yeah, if the game comes down
Speaker 1: to between the twenties and if you hold true to
Speaker 1: how you played in the regular season, the Packers definitely
Speaker 1: have the edge there. And as far as explosive plays
Speaker 1: the last month of the season, with the exception of
Speaker 1: the first half in Detroit when Detroit hit the Packers
Speaker 1: on a few big ones. Other than that first half
Speaker 1: in Detroit, the last four or five games of the
Speaker 1: regular season, the Packers defense really did clamp down in
Speaker 1: the big plays. They weren't letting those get away from them. So, um,
Speaker 1: before we go, we do have to talk about the
Speaker 1: other games because this is gonna be one heck of
Speaker 1: a weekend of NFL football, much like last weekend was.
Speaker 1: We'll start in the a f C on Saturday night
Speaker 1: the Tennessee Titans and Beast Mode too. Maybe in Derrick Henry.
Speaker 1: That guy is a load man. I'm telling you he's
Speaker 1: He's taking his Tennessee Titans in that ground game into
Speaker 1: Baltimore to face Lamar Jackson and that Ravens offense. What
Speaker 1: do you think of that one? It's funny for a
Speaker 1: game with Lamar Jackson. I actually don't think he's the
Speaker 1: number one key to victory in this I think ultimately
Speaker 1: any chance that the Titans have to win this game
Speaker 1: depends on whether or not Derrick Henry cannot be tackled
Speaker 1: within five yards of the line of script, right Because
Speaker 1: the New England Patriots couldn't do that. Despite everything that
Speaker 1: their statistics said this this year and how they defended
Speaker 1: the run, they couldn't get them down within four or
Speaker 1: five yards of the line of script. They couldn't. And
Speaker 1: once the Titans finally just started dedicating themselves to that,
Speaker 1: even though it didn't score a bevy of points, they
Speaker 1: just were able to get the production they needed to
Speaker 1: seal that and they were. They were limiting Tom Brady's
Speaker 1: opportunities by simply ball control and pounding that run and
Speaker 1: wearing out New England's defense as the game went along. Yeah,
Speaker 1: this is what I refer to as the Larry Johnson
Speaker 1: game plan. I just feel like this guy has to
Speaker 1: have thirty five thirty six carries again for the Titans
Speaker 1: to be able to win this because otherwise the Baltimore
Speaker 1: Ravens have so many different ways they can beat you.
Speaker 1: You know, my feelings on the Titans defense very strong.
Speaker 1: I like it across the board, very balanced, but Lamar
Speaker 1: Jackson stresses used in ways that no other team stresses you.
Speaker 1: And then by the way, once you queue in on him,
Speaker 1: well then that's when you have mark Ingram and everything
Speaker 1: that they do with the rest of their running backs.
Speaker 1: It's a really difficult offense to stop for four quarters.
Speaker 1: Can the Tennessee Titans, with the structure of their offense
Speaker 1: right now, keep pace with that? It's a big question. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think it is a very big question. And when
Speaker 1: you talk about trying to keep pace, I think the
Speaker 1: same question arises with regards to the Houston Texans going
Speaker 1: to Arrowhead State, even to face the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes. That Kansas City offense, you know, they are
Speaker 1: capable of putting up forty forty plus at any given time.
Speaker 1: The Houston Texans got off to a terrible start in
Speaker 1: the wild card game. They rallied with a huge second half.
Speaker 1: They were able to stay alive with an overtime victory.
Speaker 1: What do you think here of Houston going to Casey?
Speaker 1: I think Casey needs to win this game. Uh. And
Speaker 1: I know that sounds obvious because it's, you know, a
Speaker 1: chance to get to the f C title game. But
Speaker 1: I think there's a real feeling that this is a
Speaker 1: team that has been special. They have arguably the league's
Speaker 1: most complete young passer right now when you just factor
Speaker 1: in the air Raids style a Mahomes came from, and
Speaker 1: how that has translated and how Andy Reid has effectively
Speaker 1: built an offense around that at the NFL level. But
Speaker 1: they need to take that next step, and to do that,
Speaker 1: they're gonna have to beat the Baltimore Ravens likely and
Speaker 1: to get that opportunity, you have to be able to
Speaker 1: take care of business against the Houston Texans. Texans were
Speaker 1: really up and down against Buffalo I wanted to see
Speaker 1: them be a little bit more consistent all three phases.
Speaker 1: They didn't do that. It was a very erratic game
Speaker 1: for for both teams. For both teams. But if you
Speaker 1: have that kind of uh erratic behavior against Kansas City,
Speaker 1: They're gonna make you pay. Their defense is better this year.
Speaker 1: Their offense, I think, with Mahomes at the wheel, is
Speaker 1: as difficult to stop as any in the league. I
Speaker 1: just feel like Kansas City they need to hold serve here.
Speaker 1: They need to be able to defend their home field
Speaker 1: and then have that matchup likely against Baltimore, and heck,
Speaker 1: if Tennessee wins, then you should run this thing all
Speaker 1: the way. But I just feel like the way that
Speaker 1: Kansas City has been built, this is their time. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think uh the a f C for a while now,
Speaker 1: and about halfway through the season, when Patrick Mahomes was injured,
Speaker 1: it was really looking like New England and Baltimore was
Speaker 1: going to be the a f C championship. But then
Speaker 1: as the Patriots offense kind of fell off a cliff
Speaker 1: at the end of the year, Mahomes came back in
Speaker 1: Kansas City kind of found its mojo again. I think
Speaker 1: now for the last month or so, the a f
Speaker 1: C has been pointing to Baltimore in Kansas City playing
Speaker 1: for a spot in the Super Bowl. So I think
Speaker 1: that's where we are headed here. And I think that's
Speaker 1: why I bring up Kansas City when I say it's
Speaker 1: their time, because the Patriots are finally out of this thing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: this is your your gateway here. You need to go
Speaker 1: through Baltimore to do it. But there is no Tom
Speaker 1: Brady magic this offseason or this this this post season. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's Baltimore and it's Kansas City. Those two teams have
Speaker 1: through that sixteen game regular season litmus tests. They have
Speaker 1: defined themselves as the best teams in the a f C.
Speaker 1: Need to prove it. Yeah. Well, the first game of
Speaker 1: Divisional Weekend will be the other one that has obviously
Speaker 1: the implications for the Packers, the Minnesota Vikings going on
Speaker 1: the road late Saturday afternoon. They will take on the
Speaker 1: San Francisco forty Niners. We know the logistics west. If
Speaker 1: the Vikings win, then the winner of Packers Seahawks is
Speaker 1: going to be hosting the NFC championship game. If the
Speaker 1: forty Niners win, the winner of Packers Seahawks is going
Speaker 1: to Santa Clara, California next week for the NFC Championship games.
Speaker 1: So some weird things going on in Minnesota this week.
Speaker 1: Stefon Diggs Mrs practice with an illness, Adam Feeling gets
Speaker 1: his ankle cut up by a cleat or something and
Speaker 1: has to have stitches. Just some weird stuff. And the
Speaker 1: Vikings are on a short week coming off of an
Speaker 1: overtime a big emotional win. The forty Niners have been
Speaker 1: sitting back. They got their guys rested, They're getting Kwan
Speaker 1: Alexander back on their defense, which I think could be
Speaker 1: significant here. What do you think of this matchup? Because
Speaker 1: this other than obviously Packers Seahawks, which we've been which
Speaker 1: we are so focused on, this is the one to
Speaker 1: me that of the other three games that's the most intrigued. Oh,
Speaker 1: it definitely is. Because now you've got the Minnesota Vikings
Speaker 1: as everybody's underdog here trying to make a run at
Speaker 1: this thing, and for as bizarre as their sees and
Speaker 1: has been, what else would you expect this week going
Speaker 1: into the NFC Divisional playoff game in Santa Clara. This
Speaker 1: is exactly the way this thing is going to play
Speaker 1: out for them. So for that reason, there's nothing on
Speaker 1: paper that suggests the Minnesota Vikings should win this game
Speaker 1: for all the reasons that you just pointed out, and
Speaker 1: the fact that San Francisco is really healthy back to
Speaker 1: being healthier, but there was no had no business winning
Speaker 1: last week in the Superdome, at least the outside perception.
Speaker 1: So I don't know why, but like anything can happen
Speaker 1: in the playoffs, I just feel like Mike Zimmer's team,
Speaker 1: for his high expectations they had certain during some of
Speaker 1: these postseason runs. I think there's just a little bit
Speaker 1: of freedom now that it's just nobody's expecting anything from us.
Speaker 1: Let's go out there and let's shove it in their face, right,
Speaker 1: So I can't wait to watch it. I think it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a great game. I love the way that
Speaker 1: Kyle Shanahan plays offense. I love the way that they
Speaker 1: played in their strengths offensively. But ultimately, if you're gonna
Speaker 1: pick a victor in this thing, I think it comes
Speaker 1: down to Robert Sala's defense and if they are able
Speaker 1: to upfront with those six ft seven tackles right in
Speaker 1: the middle of that defense, stop Delvin Cook. That's that's
Speaker 1: the path here for the forty Niners to get to
Speaker 1: an NFC title game. Well, I think if if there's
Speaker 1: if there's any defensive coach in the league who on
Speaker 1: a short week can figure out something XS and Ohs
Speaker 1: wise to really challenge San Francisco's ground game and challenge
Speaker 1: the George Kittle matchup. You know, the word out of
Speaker 1: Minnesota is the Vikings are going to do everything they
Speaker 1: can to make Jimmy Garoppolo be the guy that wins
Speaker 1: the game, not George Kittle, not that three headed monster
Speaker 1: in the backfield. The way they can run it and
Speaker 1: control the ball and control the clock and all that
Speaker 1: kind of stuff. And Mike Zimmer certainly has the personnel
Speaker 1: to do it as well. You just wonder because we've
Speaker 1: seen how creative Kyle Shannahan can be. And you know,
Speaker 1: with the with the forty Niners now having a week off,
Speaker 1: whereas the Vikings sort of gave themselves the week off
Speaker 1: in Week seven team previously the forty Niners have had
Speaker 1: the week off. We'll see how Cree eight if they
Speaker 1: get and what counters they have for Mike Zimmer. This
Speaker 1: this umum, this this matchup could be could be just
Speaker 1: be really really interesting start to finish. I still don't
Speaker 1: like the idea of challenging Jimmy Garoppole to beat you
Speaker 1: Arizona did it twice in the span of three weeks,
Speaker 1: and he did it both times. But what choice do
Speaker 1: you have? In a sense that you don't. But at
Speaker 1: the same time, it's like this secondary this is this
Speaker 1: is a huge moment for them. Yeah, and and not
Speaker 1: only just because of you know, if you want to
Speaker 1: put this on Garoppolo, it's also what do you do
Speaker 1: in the moments where Dalvin Cook does get out of
Speaker 1: the backfield and he does get to the second level.
Speaker 1: It's a great matchup and it is You're right, I
Speaker 1: mean you have there's a pick your poison thing with
Speaker 1: this offense, no question about it. But Jimmy Garoppol, I
Speaker 1: think if we've learned anything about him in two thousand nineteen,
Speaker 1: what it needs to be on his shoulders. He's now
Speaker 1: ready to be that guy, and he has some great
Speaker 1: weapons to do it. With George kittle be in at
Speaker 1: the front of that line. It's gonna be a good
Speaker 1: game seeing how Zimmer attacks them defensively. It's really fun
Speaker 1: to watch. The one thing the one thing I liked
Speaker 1: from what I heard is, I don't know if you
Speaker 1: saw the Mike Zimmer's postgame speech in the nor I
Speaker 1: thought I thought for him right away to say to
Speaker 1: his guys, Hey, remember a couple of years ago we
Speaker 1: won a big, dramatic game, which was against the Saints
Speaker 1: the Minneapolis Miracles said the next week, we went out
Speaker 1: and played like garbage, basically against Philadelphia in the NFC Championship.
Speaker 1: He was reminding his guys right away, Hey, let's not
Speaker 1: let that happen again, and that that team is pretty
Speaker 1: other than the quarterback, obviously, that team is is in
Speaker 1: a lot of ways the same team, and Mike Zimmer
Speaker 1: is gonna have his guys ready and for as much
Speaker 1: as people want a dog on the NFC north Man,
Speaker 1: once again, here we are in the NFC divisional round.
Speaker 1: You have two teams from that division competing here to
Speaker 1: get to the title game. Yeah it's not a bad division,
Speaker 1: Yeah not at all. Well, we've gone a little bit
Speaker 1: over time today, but it's the playoffs, so why not.
Speaker 1: Right with that, we will call it a wrap on
Speaker 1: this edition and this week of Packers Unscripted. Be sure
Speaker 1: to follow all of our coverage of the team and
Speaker 1: everything from Sunday Night's big game from land Will Field.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in, everybody. We will see you
Speaker 1: next time.