WEBVTT - #507 Packers Unscripted: Special opportunity 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:14.800 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:17.720 I am Mike Spofford, joined by the one and only 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:21.200 Wes Hodkowits were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:24.000 at lambeau Field West. It's Friday, our final show of 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:29.200 the week as Packers Seahawks the NFC Divisional Playoffs Sunday, 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:33.440 five pm Central Time. Kickoff at lambau Field is almost 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:35.839 upon us and we will definitely get to our end 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:38.600 of the week keys to Victory a little bit later, 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:41.720 But I want to touch on a couple of other subjects. First. One, 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:45.960 we've spent a lot of this week talking about the 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:48.320 young guys on this Packers roster who are gonna be 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:51.159 making their playoff debuts, and the messages they've gotten from 0:00:51.159 --> 0:00:54.320 the veteran players about how to handle the emotions, about 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:58.040 how to just have the right perspective coming into a 0:00:58.120 --> 0:01:02.280 new situation, so to speak. But we've also heard from 0:01:02.320 --> 0:01:05.600 the same veterans talking about guys like Aaron Rodgers and 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:11.880 Brian Bulaga and Tremont Williams about how special this opportunity 0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:15.160 here is where the Packers went thirteen and three, got 0:01:15.160 --> 0:01:17.759 a first round by you've put yourself two games from 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:19.840 a Super Bowl. You're getting at least one of those 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:24.240 here at home against the Seattle Seahawks. And uh, they 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:28.840 really do have an appreciation for just how special this 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:31.160 chance is and they don't want to let it go. 0:01:31.319 --> 0:01:33.600 And I love the fact that I wrote about this 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:36.680 on Packers dot Com for one of our stories this week. 0:01:37.400 --> 0:01:39.759 What I love is they all have three very different stories. 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:43.360 When you look at Rogers Bolaga in Tremont Williams, Yeah, 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:46.399 starting off with Tremon this is a guy that left 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:49.200 for five years. Uh. We talked so much about the 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:53.600 NFC Championship game and how that game ended, and it's funny. 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:55.560 He was asked the question again this week if that 0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:57.600 moment sticks with them, the end of that game sticks 0:01:57.600 --> 0:01:59.200 with him, and Allway said, doesn't stick with me at all, 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:01.760 because if you understand anthing about Truman, Williams won. He's 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:05.000 played over two NFL games at this point. But more 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:07.680 than that, I mean he went and had another career. Basically, 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:09.760 he went and was in Cleveland for two years. He 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:12.760 was in Arizona after it almost looked like maybe that 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:16.760 was gonna be the end, and he comes back to 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:19.000 Green Bay and it's been two seasons with Green Bay 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:21.600 and now he's back in the postseason. And he said 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:25.160 this week that it's an opportunity not just to avenge 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:27.919 something from two thousand four teen, but it's giving him 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:30.720 a chance to write a different ending to his time 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:33.160 in Green Bay. That means the world to him. It means, 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:35.120 you know, for him to be thirty six years old 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:37.680 and still playing at the high level that he is, Uh, 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:42.000 that's an incredible accomplishment. Bolaga. Here's a guy that was 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:45.239 the youngest player in NFL history to start is Super 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:47.519 Bowl at twenty one years old and nine months or 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:50.760 whatever it was at right tackle, and now here he 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:53.360 is in year ten, one of the most veteran players 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:55.120 on this team and getting a chance to get back 0:02:55.120 --> 0:02:56.920 into a run. And I remember asking him this after 0:02:56.960 --> 0:03:00.320 Miami or Minnesota excuse me, And the question was again 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:03.520 of him this week, what that two years? How you 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:06.040 just appreciate things a little bit more when you've gone 0:03:06.080 --> 0:03:07.920 to the playoffs seven years in a row or whatever 0:03:07.960 --> 0:03:10.880 it was, and then suddenly you don't go for two years. 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:13.200 That's that's an incredible thing to be able to have 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:15.480 this opportunity again. It really speaks to him and his 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:18.400 leadership and how he's approached this thing to be able 0:03:18.400 --> 0:03:21.160 to do it. Interesting slip of the tongue you had. 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:23.640 They're saying money instead of Minnesota. By the way, I 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:25.320 just thought i'd throw that. There's a little bit of 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:27.520 a it's a little bit of remember that one if 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:30.600 a couple of weeks here well, And with regard to 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:34.160 Aaron Rodgers too, he had he had some very interesting 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:36.880 comments at his locker after Wednesday's practice, and one of 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:41.360 those that obviously stood out was he was asked about, Okay, here, 0:03:41.520 --> 0:03:43.560 you know, been out of the playoffs for a couple 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:46.200 of years, You're back in the postseason, a chance to 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:48.520 get to a second super Bowl. Everybody talks about the 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:50.880 legacy and all that, especially with a guy who's built 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:54.440 a Hall of Fame career to this point. And he 0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:56.240 was asked to well, how much is how much is 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:59.280 that second super Bowl, a second championship on your mind? 0:03:59.320 --> 0:04:01.920 And he said, it's on my mind every day, you know, 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:04.520 I mean, and he's just he was just being honest 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:07.200 now in saying that. He's not saying it it's it's 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:09.960 like an overwhelming thought or anything like that, Like it 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:12.880 doesn't it's not a burden or it doesn't drag him down, 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:16.400 so to speak. But it just speaks to when an 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:20.320 opportunity like this comes along, how much that how much 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:23.360 that is top of mind for a player like Aaron Rodgers. 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:26.640 I mean, he knows, he knows as well as anybody 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:31.240 that a second Super Bowl as a quarterback puts you 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:35.479 in a different category from so many other quarterbacks who 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:40.839 have that ring. And he's obviously got one. He's looking 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:44.640 for number two, and he knows this this is a 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:46.760 different this is a different team. He hasn't had to 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:49.520 be m v P quarterback Aaron Rodgers for the Packers 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:52.479 to go thirteen and three. And he's also been fine 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:55.400 with that. He's when he talks about accepting the roles 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:59.159 and everything, he's done that himself as well. Now that 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:02.560 being said, we all know if if Aaron Rodgers can 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:05.640 find a little bit of that m v P magic 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:11.240 that we saw back in back seasons like that, that 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:13.560 could go a long way here for the Packers in 0:05:13.560 --> 0:05:15.840 in the month of January and uh, and we'll just 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:18.280 have to see if he can, if he can summon it, 0:05:18.320 --> 0:05:21.120 because he could make this really special. Yeah, you're absolutely right. 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:22.920 And so many points that you make, they are incredibly 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:25.240 vailed and true. And and I go back to a 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:27.640 couple of things with Rogers, because when you cover this 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:31.600 team long enough, you remember Aaron Rodgers years old. Um, 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:34.120 certainly you remember him at seven when he won a 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:39.120 Super Bowl, and the perspective that those years have given him. 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.240 I always it's funny because we talked so much about 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:45.279 beast mode, right with Marshawn Lay, there's a zen mode 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:48.280 with Aaron Rodgers that I've noticed over the years, and 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:51.200 more often than not, when he's in that kind of 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:54.960 really deep reflection, he starts playing some of his best ball. 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:57.680 And I think it's just that overall awareness and and 0:05:57.920 --> 0:05:59.760 he's not going to get too higher, too low. He's 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:02.279 gonna understand what's in front of him and what the 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:05.520 team must accomplish to get to their goals. And he's 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:07.599 very in tune with the fact that two more wins 0:06:07.640 --> 0:06:09.520 here gets him back to a Super Bowl, gets this 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:11.640 team back to a Super Bowl in a chance to 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:14.560 compete for the biggest prize of them all. So they're 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:16.760 not really too concerned right now what's happened or what 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:19.000 the stats are. As Rogers said at this point in 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:20.760 your career, when you get to my age and when 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:24.320 you're sitting in this chair, you just want to win championships. 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:27.200 That's the thing that he's looking to put up on 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:29.560 the shelf right now, and he has a great opportunity 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:31.880 to do it with this roster. You've heard him and 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:33.520 it was right there he was sitting next to Larry 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:36.640 McCarron in the studio a couple of days ago. Outlying 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:39.760 this year and what has made this team special. Rogers 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:41.320 has said countless times this is one of the most 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:45.080 fun seasons he's had, just based on the way that 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.440 this team has come together, whether it was your Marcedes 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:51.400 Lewis's or your Al Lazars who come out of nowhere 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:55.000 to become a big part of this roster. Those relationships 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:57.880 in in personalities that that really goes a long way 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:02.599 for a football team in realistically, Mike, all it takes 0:07:02.680 --> 0:07:06.120 is one game to find your stroke, to find where 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:08.400 you are and what you want to do. And I 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:10.800 just I feel I get this feeling going into this 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:12.640 game that we're just going to see the best version 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:15.040 of Aaron Rodgers. Yeah, well that that would really be 0:07:15.160 --> 0:07:18.000 That would really be something because as We've talked about 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:21.360 the Packers defense kind of re establishing itself down the stretch, 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:24.840 the special teams finding a return game late in the season. 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:27.840 The Packers offenses, i wrote about last week, has been 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:30.240 on the verge so many times in the last month, 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.120 crossing the fifty yard line but not coming away with points. 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:35.440 Been on the verge of putting up so many more 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:37.720 points on the board that if they can take that 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:40.480 extra step, that's what you're looking for from this Packers 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:42.640 offense in the month of January. And the big line 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:45.520 that Rogers said it was to Larry is that whatever 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:47.960 it takes unwilling to do for this team to win. 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:50.280 And it's I'm not saying that's going to go on 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:51.960 a T shirt or end up above his locker and 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:55.240 seashells or anything like Relaxed did, but it is that 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:58.200 is this team. It's whatever it takes to get that win. 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:00.960 And they've done it all season. This is a supreme 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:03.960 test that they have on Sunday. Seattle's won a lot 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:07.119 of the games is a very similar way, but there's 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:09.000 a confidence there when you've done it the way they've 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:11.240 done it all year, that you know what we can 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:13.320 do it again. Yeah, Well, one other topic I want 0:08:13.320 --> 0:08:15.280 to touch on before we get to Keys to Victory, 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:17.520 and I promised that we will get there. But in 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:19.720 the midst of all of the playoff hoop law this 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:22.560 week and the divisional game being here in Green Bay 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:25.200 and on the horizon first time in five years the 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:28.720 Packers are hosting this round of the playoffs, we've actually 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:31.680 neglected to discuss another big piece of news, which is 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:34.319 that former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy has been hired 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:39.160 by Jerry Jones to coach the Dallas Cowboys and um, 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:43.120 a move that that seemed to happen very quickly over 0:08:43.160 --> 0:08:46.840 the weekend and then was announced a little bit earlier 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:49.800 this week and made official by Dallas and Mike McCarthy 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:52.559 getting a five year contract. First of all, congratulations, hats 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:55.559 off to Mike McCarthy. I wish him well. I'm really 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:58.240 glad he's getting another opportunity to coach in the NFL. 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:00.800 I think we knew that this would this would happen, 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:05.880 and uh, I'm really really interested too to watch him 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:08.360 work from afar with a team that is that's in 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:10.840 good shape, a roster that's in very good shape, and 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:14.000 the expectations to move forward quickly are there. What are 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:16.800 your thoughts on on McCarthy landing the job in Dallas 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:19.000 without a shadow of a doubt he landed the best 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:22.960 free the opening in terms of position question, I think 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:25.079 when you when you walk into a situation, you know, 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:27.440 much like Matt Lafleur did last year, where you have 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:29.319 the quarterback in place and you have the running back 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:32.000 in place and a lot of talent around those two players, 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:34.920 good things can happen. And I think you can even 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:36.640 see and just listen to him talking to his news 0:09:36.640 --> 0:09:38.880 conference how energized he is to work with the young 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:42.760 quarterback again like Dak Prescott in trying to help him, 0:09:42.800 --> 0:09:44.880 you know, ascend to that next level that I think 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:46.960 a lot of people feel like he has that potential 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:50.000 to actually accomplish. And then for him, you know, he 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:53.000 was here for as long as he was and accomplished 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:55.000 so much in Green Bay, and I think as years 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.920 where on, more and more people will appreciate those accomplishments 0:09:57.960 --> 0:09:59.559 because there was a lot of winning that happened in 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:01.560 the tooth thousand tens and McCarthy had a lot to 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:04.520 do with that. For him to get another chance with 0:10:04.600 --> 0:10:08.360 another iconic franchise. I think it's a tremendous opportunity for 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:10.840 him and their family. You could tell how much it 0:10:10.880 --> 0:10:12.880 meant to him so to mean to be able to 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:15.720 get another shot at this. I think it's gonna be 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:19.160 really cool. And as I tweeted afterwards in my congratulations 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:21.679 to him, the National Football League is much better with 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:24.440 Mike McCarthy coaching in it, So it's no question back 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:26.559 here and interested to see what he puts together for 0:10:26.600 --> 0:10:28.559 a staff. Well, a couple of things that I think 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:31.960 are pretty cool. One is that with the change that's 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:35.000 gone on in the NFC East, that division now has 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:37.400 three coaches who have been to Super Bowls, with Ron 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:41.880 Rivera taking over Washington, Mike McCarthy taking over in Dallas, 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:44.079 and then obviously Doug Peterson, who won a Super Bowl 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:47.800 with Philadelphia. So suddenly there's a powerhouse lineup of coaches 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:51.280 in the NFC East, which was, you know, considered essentially 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:54.320 the worst division in football in two thousand and nineteen. 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:57.079 So that's very interesting. The other thing, and I was 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:00.199 I had this conversation briefly with Rob Demovski this week 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:03.600 from ESPN, who you and I have both known for 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:06.200 a long time. We both worked with him in previous 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:10.560 places in our careers. You know, how many guys get 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:13.559 the opportunity to manage the Yankees and the Dodgers for 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:16.400 the coach the Lakers and the Celtics. I mean, Mike 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:19.000 McCarthy has coached the Packers and now he's going to 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:21.840 coach the Cowboys. I mean this, this is this is 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:25.360 really really unique in history. I think it's a tribute 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:28.720 to him and the presence that he commands and his 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:32.559 accomplishments and the demand that there is out there for 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:35.800 a coach of his of his caliber, and Jerry Jones 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:38.320 saying he felt it was just very fortuitous that a 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:41.040 coach like McCarthy was available at this moment for the 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:44.080 Dallas Cowboys with where their team is. But when you 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:47.360 think about, as you said, iconic franchises, the fact that 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:49.640 Mike McCarthy now in his career, is going to have 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:51.959 coached the Packers and the Cowboys, I just think that's 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:54.400 really cool. It is it's really cool. And again, it 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:56.600 doesn't happen every day because even some of the great 0:11:56.640 --> 0:11:59.199 coaches who have come through and have had success, one 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:01.200 or two of those ops might not have been really 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:04.400 seen as like high profile jobs. I mean, these are 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:06.280 two of the best, if not the best jobs in 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:10.280 football right now when you look at the opportunity, the resources, 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:12.840 and obviously the history of both of those franchises. To 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:14.840 your first point, I agree with you too. It's very 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:17.360 interesting to see what's happened with the NFC East. Yeah, 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:19.560 it reminds me a lot of when Joe Gibbs came 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:22.040 out of retirement to go back to Washington and you 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:25.000 had Gibbs, you had Tom Coughlin, you had Andy Reid, 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:26.840 and then Wade Phillips, I believe at the time, was 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:29.480 the head coach of the Dallas Covils. So to see 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:32.000 kind of those powerhouse sort of coaches go in there. Obviously, 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:34.880 Joe Judges is kind of unproven at this point. Yeah, 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:36.760 he's the he's the new kid on the block, so 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:38.960 to speak. Yeah, but but I think there is a 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:40.840 lot of star power there. And obviously they're trying to 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:43.000 pull that division back up because I think everybody can 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:45.560 pretty much agree it was the poorest division in two 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:48.280 thousand nineteen, and you know, they want to get it 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:50.760 back up to what they feel as a higher level. Yeah, 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:52.640 and we'll see it may not take long with those 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:56.720 guys in charge of of those franchises. Um all right, well, 0:12:57.320 --> 0:13:00.600 Packer Seahawks is almost upon us here West and we 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:03.360 do need to discuss keys to victory. I know we 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:06.840 touched on a lot of different angles with regards to 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:09.439 this matchup throughout the course of the week. So as 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:12.520 far as what's it going to take for the Packers 0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:15.359 to win this game and advanced to the NFC Championship, 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:17.800 where do you start? I'm gonna start on the ground, Mike. 0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:19.760 It was the first column that I wrote this week 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:21.880 within Box. It has to start on the ground. You 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:24.480 have to get Aaron Jones going and Jamal Williams going. 0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:27.080 It's not optional this week. I just think when you 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:30.959 look at the real there's so many statistics that are 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:34.680 so similar between these two teams, except when you look 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:37.160 at the ground games. Right now, Marshawn Lynch is an 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:40.600 incredibly accomplished running back. He has some questions to answer 0:13:40.679 --> 0:13:42.480 after not playing football for the better part of the 0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:46.199 last year. Travis Homer same thing, being a six round rookie. 0:13:46.840 --> 0:13:49.720 On the other side here, Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:51.880 have been the bell co backs for this team for 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:55.720 three years now. Aaron Jones had a career defining season. 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:58.000 Jamal Williams has played very well when he's had his 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:02.200 opportunities as well. Packers are seven and oh this season. 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:04.800 They are undefeated. When either of those guys goes over 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:07.800 a hundred yards rushing, you need to be able to 0:14:07.920 --> 0:14:10.240 establish that to win this football game, because it's not 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:12.240 just about the ground game. It's not just about what 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:15.000 the weather might be like on Sunday. It's also the 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:18.320 consideration of game management and time management. I feel like 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:20.520 this is a game in which possessions are going to 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:22.920 be at a premium and you want to protect the football. 0:14:22.960 --> 0:14:25.560 If those two guys produce and do just that and 0:14:25.600 --> 0:14:28.840 protecting the football, I feel pretty strongly that the Packers 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:30.880 stand to win this ball game. Yeah. I have certainly 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:33.800 no argument with that as a top priority and a 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:36.120 key to victory. You went back to something you said 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:37.800 at the beginning of the week, so I'm going to 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:41.000 do the same thing. I remember sitting on my couch 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:46.160 working on the Monday Insider inbox after right after the 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:49.880 Seattle Philadelphia game finished up on Sunday, and of course 0:14:49.880 --> 0:14:51.640 the questions are coming in Okay, what's it going to 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:53.600 take for the Packers to beat the Seahawks? What do 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:55.960 they have to focus on? And I sort of just 0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:58.320 off the top of my head jokingly said, you know, 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:00.160 these are my A B c's and I'm gonna call 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:05.120 them the w M c's of this game. And that's Wilson, Metcalfe, 0:15:05.360 --> 0:15:08.400 and Clowney. To me, those are the three guys that 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:11.040 you have to focus on if you're the Packers in 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:13.960 order to come out victorious. Here. With Russell Wilson, it's 0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:17.840 the obvious. You can't let him or not necessarily can't 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:19.640 let him, but you have to be ready for him 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:22.080 to extend plays. You have to be ready to defend 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:24.880 plays for eight, nine, ten eleven seconds if that's what 0:15:24.960 --> 0:15:28.040 it takes, and you can't let him just take off 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:30.880 and scramble for fifty yards a crack because those are 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:36.800 backbreaking type of place dk metcalf he single handedly almost 0:15:36.800 --> 0:15:39.880 wrecked the Philadelphia Eagles season. He had the long touchdown 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:42.520 that gave the Eagles the two score lead I means 0:15:42.640 --> 0:15:44.840 gave the Seahawks the two score lead over the Eagles 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:46.800 in the second half, and then he had the big 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:48.440 third down catch at the end of the game that 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:52.120 salted it away hundred and sixty yards receiving for a 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:55.400 rookie in his first playoff game. DK metcalf is coming 0:15:55.400 --> 0:15:58.680 into lambeau Field riding high and with all kinds of 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:02.040 competent confidence for a young player. And then you saw 0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:05.680 what Jadavian Clowney has done in some big games for 0:16:05.720 --> 0:16:08.960 the Seahawks. We talked about the overtime win on Monday 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:11.880 Night Football against San Francisco about a month or a 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:13.800 month and a half ago, and then you saw what 0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:18.480 Clowney was doing against the Philadelphia Eagles. Packers have to 0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:21.040 get this guy blocked. They have to limit his impact 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:23.400 in the game. Those are the three guys to me 0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:26.320 that this this entire game revolves around. As much as 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:29.560 I agree with you about Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:32.760 and obviously we'd love to see Aaron Rodgers find some 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:34.760 of his past magic and all of that that we've 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:37.440 talked about, those are the three guys for Seattle. If 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:41.120 we're not talking so much about those guys on Monday, 0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:43.760 then I think we're talking about a Packers victim exactly. 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:45.960 And that's the thing that's a credit to Russell Wilson, 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:47.760 it's one of he's he's one of the It's the 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:50.120 reason why he's one of the absolute best from his 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:53.200 era right now at quarterbacks, because when the chips are 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:55.400 down and you lose players and there's injuries, you have 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:59.000 to work through things. He finds ways to make guys stars. 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:01.280 And I think you've seen with DK Metcalf, a guy 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:04.119 that was, as I've said before, I mean, was as 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:06.960 scrutinized as any prospect as I can remember coming out. 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:11.160 Everybody tried to pick this guy apart John Snyder, Pete Carroll, 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:13.400 and eventually Russell Wilson said, you know what, this guy 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:15.159 can play football and he can help us. And I 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:17.520 think you've seen him in certain points of this season, 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:21.000 including that game against the Eagles, really be able to dominate. 0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:23.720 You cannot let him do that if you eliminate those 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:26.840 explosive plays that Philly couldn't. I think that's where things 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:30.600 didn't get really difficult on Russell Wilson, him and Tyler Lockett. 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:33.399 Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, those are one A and one 0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:35.480 B in terms of where I think the attention needs 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:38.320 to be pointed towards. The more you stop the run, 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:43.280 the more you pressure Wilson from up front. All of 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:47.360 that factors into making sure it's a long afternoon forum. 0:17:47.400 --> 0:17:50.240 But at any given time, he can scramble out, he 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:52.159 can extend to play, and he can find a receiver. 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:54.840 For a deep game, you have to plaster the coverage. 0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:56.159 You have to be on top of that. You have 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:58.080 to make sure that the safety coverage is where you 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:00.560 needed to be to make sure that Wilson doesn't have 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:04.119 that avenue to escape well. And I think explosive plays 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:05.840 become such a big part of this. And all you 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:08.000 have to do is look back at last weekend in 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:13.400 you know, wild card weekend. The only way the New 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:15.960 Orleans Saints were even in that game in the first 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:18.480 half with the Minnesota Vikings was because of one big 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:20.800 play that they hit when Taysom Hill fired the fifty 0:18:20.840 --> 0:18:23.359 yard passed down the field. How did the Vikings end 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:25.720 up pulling it out in overtime? The big pass down 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:28.280 the field to Adam Feeling that the Saints couldn't stop it. 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:31.440 It ended their season, right. I already mentioned the big 0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:34.440 plays DK Metcalf made against the Eagles in the other 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:39.760 NFC Wild Card game. Defensively, if you limit explosive plays 0:18:40.200 --> 0:18:42.960 and make teams go the hard way, make them take 0:18:43.040 --> 0:18:45.960 the long way down the field, you know, and you've 0:18:45.960 --> 0:18:47.960 talked about this as well, the way the way the 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:51.280 Packers have defended in the red zone this year. You 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:54.000 like your chances to keep to keep that point total 0:18:54.119 --> 0:18:56.439 low if you're not giving up the big chunks of 0:18:56.520 --> 0:18:58.719 yard Yeah, And that's where it goes back to some 0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:01.879 Dom Campers always talked about too. The more plays you 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:05.240 force an offense to to actually go to score a touchdown, 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:08.119 that's more opportunities to take away the football and his 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:10.600 more opportunities to stop a drive. If you don't have 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:12.600 those big chunk yardage. There's a big reason why he 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:15.920 always talked about too, with defensive penalties and an unnecessary roughness, 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:18.560 those fifteen yards go a long way and upping the 0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:22.520