Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford. He is the one and only
Speaker 1: West Hot Quits. We hope you had a wonderful Christmas
Speaker 1: with you and yours. West is Week seventeen, Packers Lions
Speaker 1: Sunday noon Central Time, kickoff at lambeau Field to wrap
Speaker 1: up the season for both of these squads. Our midweek
Speaker 1: show will take a quick look at the Detroit Lions,
Speaker 1: and then I want to get to some of those
Speaker 1: playoff implications around the rest of the league here for
Speaker 1: weeks seventeen that I talked about on our previous show.
Speaker 1: Want to make sure we get to that. But Detroit
Speaker 1: five and ten, the Packers are six eight and one.
Speaker 1: The Lions under first year head coach Matt Patricia, definitely
Speaker 1: a season of ups and downs. Early on, they beat
Speaker 1: the New England Patriots, they beat the Green Bay Packers
Speaker 1: both at Ford Field. Was looking like Matt Patricia might
Speaker 1: be putting something together in his inaugural season. That has
Speaker 1: not been the case, and since then, quite frankly, we've
Speaker 1: seen general manager Bob Quinn there and Patricia making a
Speaker 1: lot of roster moves, trading some guys moving on from
Speaker 1: other guys. They seemed to be in the process of
Speaker 1: trying to mold a roster that Matt Patricia wants to
Speaker 1: work with going forward. Do you think that's a fair
Speaker 1: assess I think that's a pretty fair assessment. It seemed
Speaker 1: to me, you know, they got that win over the Packers,
Speaker 1: and they came back and beat the Dolphins after their
Speaker 1: by and they were writing the thick of things and
Speaker 1: what was appearing to be a very uh, you know,
Speaker 1: even NFC North playoff picture, but now losers of seven
Speaker 1: of their last nine last week, a really tough performance
Speaker 1: when you look at you know, them coming out against
Speaker 1: the Vikings trying to you know, make a little bit
Speaker 1: of a statement. Matt Stafford only throws for a hundred
Speaker 1: and sixteen yards. Uh. They really struggle to get things
Speaker 1: one on the ground game. And it's been you know,
Speaker 1: kind of a difficult, tumultuous last two months for the
Speaker 1: for the Lions, trying to find their footing in this thing.
Speaker 1: They jumped on the Vikings nine to nothing. They were
Speaker 1: in complete control of the game for the first quarter
Speaker 1: and a half, even close to the first two full quarters.
Speaker 1: The Vikings end up getting a touchdown late in the
Speaker 1: second quarter and then hit the Hail Mary at the
Speaker 1: end of the first half to take the lead. The
Speaker 1: nine to nothing advantage for Detroit was gone, and then
Speaker 1: they just it was like they had nothing left in
Speaker 1: the second half. Yeah, And to be honest with you, Mike,
Speaker 1: I think the big thing that they're dealing with you
Speaker 1: talked about. You know, they made some of those trades.
Speaker 1: They traded Golden Tate earlier this year. That's the one
Speaker 1: everybody's still talking about as the one that had the
Speaker 1: biggest impact on this offense and on Matthew Stafford at
Speaker 1: quarterback and everything. Well, because how many times, Mike, after
Speaker 1: the retirement of Calvin Johnson did you and I discuss
Speaker 1: how Golden Tate was kind of one of the guys
Speaker 1: that helped them develop a new offensive identity. Absolutely, and
Speaker 1: he was also I give a lot of credit, I believe,
Speaker 1: correct me for wrong your Martin Mayhew was the one
Speaker 1: that actually signed him, if I'm wrong on that. I
Speaker 1: can't remember for sure about that, but I always thought
Speaker 1: that for for wide receiver, it's such a mixed bag
Speaker 1: when you go out and you try to sign a
Speaker 1: free agent wide receiver because you never know what you're
Speaker 1: gonna get a lot of times those guys best years
Speaker 1: already behind them, because the Davante Adams year old type
Speaker 1: receivers just don't hit free agency and they don't they
Speaker 1: don't tratch the market. Golden Tate did and he had
Speaker 1: a better second half of his career with Detroit than
Speaker 1: he did on the first half of it with Seattle.
Speaker 1: And now, I mean, they look like they have a
Speaker 1: real stud in Gala Day Kenny Date Gallada, that he's
Speaker 1: going to be a guy that could be their number
Speaker 1: one receiver for years to come. But I think right
Speaker 1: now in the interim there's just been a dearth of
Speaker 1: playmakers there and then losing carry On Johnson as well,
Speaker 1: really hurting that ground game which appeared to finally start
Speaker 1: finding itself. That's what I was gonna say, is they
Speaker 1: seem to be getting their footing with that ground game
Speaker 1: with Carrie on Johnson. They've been working for years, I mean,
Speaker 1: since the whole concussion issue, a job at Best who
Speaker 1: they had invested in as a as a running back
Speaker 1: of the future and all that. They seem to have
Speaker 1: found that with Johnson, but he goes on the shelf
Speaker 1: with an injury, and then and then you have Stafford,
Speaker 1: as you said, one bona fide target. Marvin Jones Jr.
Speaker 1: No slouch either, but just without golden tape, there's just
Speaker 1: not enough variety there, it seems for Matthew Stafford to
Speaker 1: really find the groove that we've seen him in before.
Speaker 1: And interestingly here West I looked this up quickly before
Speaker 1: we sat down to tape this show. Detroit Lions actually
Speaker 1: going for their fourth consecutive victory over the Packers in
Speaker 1: this rivalry. Last time the Lions beat the Packers four
Speaker 1: consecutive times slash eighty three, thirty five years since that happened.
Speaker 1: So the Packers hoping that that doesn't happen, and that
Speaker 1: streak of the Lions not taking over the rivalry so
Speaker 1: to speak, that that doesn't happen on Sunday. Yeah, that's
Speaker 1: the number one thing here. The Packers at a time
Speaker 1: in which you know, they went twenty some years, six
Speaker 1: years Jason Hansen's whole career without ever losing at lambeau
Speaker 1: Field to the Lions now trying to avoid losing their
Speaker 1: fourth straight to Detroit. The one storyline to kind of
Speaker 1: follow Marvin Jones Jr. Went on injury reserve a few
Speaker 1: weeks back. So the Packers, Well, my apologies I missed that, no,
Speaker 1: but I mean, the only point I'm trying to illustrate there,
Speaker 1: He's been a real thorn in this defensive side for
Speaker 1: a number of years in that big play threat has
Speaker 1: not been there again, one of the things that I
Speaker 1: think is kind of hurt their offense and being able
Speaker 1: to get the downfield passing game going hundred and sixteen
Speaker 1: yards passing on Matthew Stafford. You just you never see
Speaker 1: those kind of numbers. Yeah, you don't. And uh, we'll
Speaker 1: see what happens here going forward with Detroit. Your thoughts
Speaker 1: on where they are defensively because matt Patricia coming from
Speaker 1: the defensive background with the New England Patriots, everything along
Speaker 1: those lines. Darius big play slave, We've talked about him
Speaker 1: a lot. He is definitely a guy to to pay
Speaker 1: attention to out there. But again, a side of the
Speaker 1: ball that still looking for that identity as well. I
Speaker 1: think it really is because I mean you look at
Speaker 1: their leading sackers right now. It's Omara Okawa. I can't
Speaker 1: pronounced that, and then Devin Kennard ziggy ansa never was
Speaker 1: able to get on track this year. He ended up
Speaker 1: on a reserve. That's right. They franchise tagged Ansa, didn't
Speaker 1: they And yeah, just things didn't come together. Tough year
Speaker 1: for him. He's also had a really strange way of it,
Speaker 1: and that I mean, if you look at his career
Speaker 1: stats here, Michael uh the way his career has gone
Speaker 1: eight sacks, seven and a half, fourteen and a half
Speaker 1: two in thirteen games twelve last year and then four
Speaker 1: and seven before he was I rd after that Arizona game.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I mean, it's it's just been a difficult
Speaker 1: situation with them trying to find their identity. They've gotten
Speaker 1: a buy. I think there is some talent in that defense,
Speaker 1: but it's just overall, especially with some of the issues
Speaker 1: they've had on offense, just not been able to overcome it. Yeah, alrighty, Well,
Speaker 1: Packers fans be sure to stop in at your local
Speaker 1: quick Trip, pick up your Packers cup today and get
Speaker 1: eighty nine sent refills on your Cafe Cruba coffee. All right.
Speaker 1: West I mentioned on our show the day before Christmas
Speaker 1: that we needed to talk about what happened in Week
Speaker 1: sixteen in the NFL and how that sets up for
Speaker 1: Week seventeen with some of these playoff implications, and we
Speaker 1: might as well stay right in the NFC North because
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings, they are the ones in control of
Speaker 1: their destiny, so to speak, with regards to the last
Speaker 1: open playoff spot in the NFC. If the Vikings can
Speaker 1: beat the Bears, they host the Bears on Sunday three
Speaker 1: Central time kickoff. There. The Vikings win that game, they
Speaker 1: are back in the playoffs. If they lose, And if
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Eagles win on the road in the Nation's
Speaker 1: Capital against Washington, they defending Super Bowl champs will squeak
Speaker 1: into that final playoff spot. The other five spots in
Speaker 1: the NFC are decided. Seattle's clinched a wild card, the
Speaker 1: Cowboys clinched the NFC East, the Bears obviously clinched the
Speaker 1: NFC North, and then you have the Saints and the
Speaker 1: Rams right now at the top of things. How do
Speaker 1: you see this uh playing out here in the NFC.
Speaker 1: Who do you think is going to get that last
Speaker 1: wild card spot? Here's what I love about the NFL, Michael,
Speaker 1: how many times have you heard me say this? Over
Speaker 1: are this two and a half almost three full years
Speaker 1: of us doing this show. Last year, you had the
Speaker 1: Philadelphia Eagles the Minnesota Vikings vying to go to the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl right right, trying to stay on that road
Speaker 1: make all their dreams come true. And now in a
Speaker 1: matter of ten months later, eleven months later, here they
Speaker 1: are trying to get that number six wild card spot
Speaker 1: in the NFC. It's just it's it's what the game's
Speaker 1: all about in terms of parody and competitiveness and how
Speaker 1: you cannot count your eggs year to year. You always
Speaker 1: must let them hatch in a new season. But the
Speaker 1: fact that again it's Nick Foles the miracle man, and
Speaker 1: the Eagles trying to make this comeback happen after what
Speaker 1: has been a tough up and down season for them,
Speaker 1: and then the Minnesota Vikings trying to hold on to
Speaker 1: the top of the bow of the ship uh and
Speaker 1: and see if they can keep this thing above water
Speaker 1: before the postseason. The difficult thing for the Vikings though,
Speaker 1: they got to go up against one of the biggest
Speaker 1: surprises the NFL and the Chicago Bears, so the work
Speaker 1: does not get any easier for them. But the fact
Speaker 1: of the matter remains, this is the type of team
Speaker 1: that you have to beat if you want to make
Speaker 1: a run in the playoffs, let alone being able to
Speaker 1: get the playoff bid. This is gonna be a big
Speaker 1: game for them and seeing what their chances really look like. Well,
Speaker 1: and it appears that the Bears will be playing to
Speaker 1: win this game because the NFL sets up the schedule
Speaker 1: in week seventeen so that games that are dependent on
Speaker 1: others for playoff fortunes and whatnot kick off at the
Speaker 1: same time. They try to do that as much as
Speaker 1: possible and the Bears. If the Bears win and if
Speaker 1: the Rams lose, the Bears can get the number two
Speaker 1: seed and a first drawn by So Chicago has plenty
Speaker 1: to play for. Even though the Bears have already clinched
Speaker 1: the f C North, they're not just gonna roll over,
Speaker 1: I don't think against the Vikings here. And obviously the
Speaker 1: Bears handled the Vikings pretty well in Chicago in a
Speaker 1: primetime game just a few weeks ago. But then what
Speaker 1: a game in Philadelphia last Sunday between the Eagles and
Speaker 1: the Texans. The back and forth there in the fourth quarter,
Speaker 1: Nick Foles, Deshaun Watson, some of the players Deshaun Watson
Speaker 1: was making for Houston to to keep the Texans in it.
Speaker 1: And the Texans may have blown their first round by
Speaker 1: in the a f C and given that to the Patriots,
Speaker 1: the Texans, um, they will they will win. If I'm
Speaker 1: not mistaken. They are the a f C South champion. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they've won the a f C South, but um, what
Speaker 1: a game in Philadelphia the way that one finished. The
Speaker 1: Eagles stay alive and uh and now and you mentioned
Speaker 1: the two teams in the NFC, only one of them
Speaker 1: is going to get. Two teams playing for the conference
Speaker 1: championship last year, only one will be in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Same thing in the a f C. The Jacksonville Jaguars
Speaker 1: totally out of it at this point. But a team
Speaker 1: that was what do they what do they say down
Speaker 1: in Jacksonville like a whistle on a fumble away from
Speaker 1: going to the super Bowl because they thought they had
Speaker 1: the Patriots beat if that fumble return doesn't get called
Speaker 1: back and all of that. Now the Jaguars are a
Speaker 1: five win team and and looking up at a whole
Speaker 1: bunch of other teams that are fighting forward in the
Speaker 1: a f well, and this is what I love about,
Speaker 1: especially at a f C South the last few years. Uh,
Speaker 1: You know, Houston has had to go through a lot,
Speaker 1: including one torn e c l from Deshaun Watson. Uh
Speaker 1: to to still make these runs and to still be
Speaker 1: a team that now has made the playoffs and what
Speaker 1: three the last four years. But then you look at
Speaker 1: the Indianapolis Colts now taking on the Tennessee Titans. One
Speaker 1: of those teams is going to the playoffs. The Colts
Speaker 1: a year ago a Siberia almost with without Andrew Luck
Speaker 1: and in so much up and down and just craziness
Speaker 1: how being there a lot of turmoil in that organization
Speaker 1: was going for and you see how a franchise quarterback
Speaker 1: can kind of just calm all of that. And now
Speaker 1: underneath Frank right, the offensive mind that that helped lead
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Eagles to the Promised Land a year ago, well,
Speaker 1: now suddenly they're back in the playoff chase. Um, you
Speaker 1: look at Tennessee, who has scratched and clawed to make
Speaker 1: this happen. I mean, again, by no means has this
Speaker 1: been an offensive juggernaut under Marcus Mariota. No disrespect to them,
Speaker 1: but they've just they've had to find ways to win.
Speaker 1: And Derrick Henry has become a top running back in
Speaker 1: the league over the last month of the season. So
Speaker 1: and they had to win last weekend with Blaine Gabb
Speaker 1: because Mariota gets hurt, and now there's questions about whether
Speaker 1: Mariota can play in this Sunday night game. Colts and texts,
Speaker 1: Colts and Titans, excuse me being flexed to the Sunday
Speaker 1: night game for Week seventeen, because it's a de facto
Speaker 1: playoff game. The winner is in the postseason, the loser
Speaker 1: is out of the postseason. And yeah, a f C
Speaker 1: playoffs start on Sunday night. Well in one of the
Speaker 1: things that was the best about this year, Mike, for
Speaker 1: me is that I love quarterbacks in the NFL. I
Speaker 1: love franchise quarterbacks. I love named quarterbacks. The NFL is
Speaker 1: better with Andrew Luck in it, no doubt. I thought
Speaker 1: a lot was missing, especially in that division last year
Speaker 1: when you didn't have Watson, you didn't have Luck. It
Speaker 1: just it didn't have the same verve to it. So
Speaker 1: being able to see him come back and not have
Speaker 1: any issues with the shoulder, not have any problems with
Speaker 1: the throwing the football, and just get back to his form,
Speaker 1: I think he's reminding of people of the type of
Speaker 1: player he is and in what he brings to this league,
Speaker 1: and the fact that he also has kind of negated
Speaker 1: some of the you know, I don't want to call
Speaker 1: him reckless run plays, but he's been smarter about what
Speaker 1: he's done outside the pocket. Um, I'm really excited. I wish,
Speaker 1: like I said a couple of weeks ago, I wish
Speaker 1: the Packers were in this playoffs this year because it's
Speaker 1: a really exciting group and I don't think there's one
Speaker 1: team right now absent maybe, as we've said, the Saints
Speaker 1: at home that just you just look at them as
Speaker 1: the de facto favorite. Um. I'm just excited to see
Speaker 1: what comes out of it, because I really think one
Speaker 1: of these five or six seeds could end up making
Speaker 1: a run. Yeah. Well, and what you just said about
Speaker 1: the a f C South with Deshaun Watson and Andrew
Speaker 1: Luck getting back into the mix, that's is maybe as
Speaker 1: big a reason as any that the Jacksonville Jaguars had
Speaker 1: their backslide because that division completely changed. The Jaguars have
Speaker 1: some issues of their own, obviously, and then you mentioned
Speaker 1: the Saints, and I'm with you. I think it's gonna
Speaker 1: be really difficult for anybody in the NFC to go
Speaker 1: into New Orleans. They have the number one seed locked
Speaker 1: up now to beat New Orleans in the postseason. But
Speaker 1: yet we just saw last Sunday West the Pittsburgh Steelers,
Speaker 1: no slouch of a team. They actually had that game,
Speaker 1: they should have won it. They gave it away. I
Speaker 1: mean two crucial fumbles in the second half, a very
Speaker 1: questionable decision on a fake punt on fourth and four
Speaker 1: or fourth and five in their own territory, which gave
Speaker 1: the failure of that gave Drew Brees the short field
Speaker 1: to allow the Saints to take the lead late in
Speaker 1: the game. And now you're looking at Pittsburgh Steelers team
Speaker 1: that their playoff hopes are kind of on life support. Here.
Speaker 1: The Steelers need to win, They need the Browns to
Speaker 1: beat the Ravens, or a Pittsburgh team that almost and
Speaker 1: probably should have beaten the best team in the NFC
Speaker 1: might not even get in the dance. It's amazing. And
Speaker 1: the fact that the Ravens again have sort of risen
Speaker 1: from the dead now with Lamar Jackson as their quarterback.
Speaker 1: And what a performance by that defense against the Chargers
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles last Saturday night. Yeah, death Taxes and
Speaker 1: the Ravens Deans. I mean, it just that's the way
Speaker 1: they're wired. And and to see how they've kind of come,
Speaker 1: you know, arguably playing as well as any unit in
Speaker 1: the NFL right now. And then I think you also
Speaker 1: got to credit the Ravens. You know, a guy like
Speaker 1: Gus Edwards, undrafted free ages that nobody even knew about.
Speaker 1: Alex Collins was the running back. They had Buck Allen there,
Speaker 1: and then Gus Edwards comes out of nowhere, has a
Speaker 1: hundred yard game, and then he becomes a featured back.
Speaker 1: I mean, they just have found ways to win. And
Speaker 1: I think we'd be lying if we said that they
Speaker 1: aren't maybe the most entertaining team in football now with
Speaker 1: Jackson at quarterback, with what he brings to them, the multiple,
Speaker 1: multiple dimensions that he adds. Yeah, it's it's interesting and
Speaker 1: that this we it was boiling down to this the
Speaker 1: entire time. It was gonna come to this with as
Speaker 1: much parody as we've seen in the NFC, the a
Speaker 1: f C across the board this year. You're gonna have
Speaker 1: some drama going into Week seventeen, and and you know, honestly,
Speaker 1: that's that's the best part that's what makes this game special. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's the way it That's the way it should be.
Speaker 1: And I know there aren't a whole lot of playoff
Speaker 1: implications on the line in the early games when the
Speaker 1: Packers and the Lions play and those other noon Central
Speaker 1: kickoffs on Sunday, but it's gonna be a lot of drama,
Speaker 1: a lot of action, a lot of scoreboard watching starting
Speaker 1: at three five on Sunday after well, and here's the
Speaker 1: biggest thing with this Packers lines game. We'll talk about
Speaker 1: it with our Keys to Victory on Friday, but the
Speaker 1: fact of the matter is the Packers are trying to
Speaker 1: finish this thing. Get on a two game winning streak
Speaker 1: to end the year. Go seven, eight and one, go
Speaker 1: three and one. Underneath your interim head coach on the
Speaker 1: other side of the coin, Matt Patricia, is trying to
Speaker 1: build a culture. He's trying to change things there. He's
Speaker 1: trying to make this team his own. They need to
Speaker 1: win this game. You cannot end the season if from
Speaker 1: the Lions perspective throwing a hundred and sixteen yards in
Speaker 1: the air against Minnesota and then you know, get punched
Speaker 1: in the mouth against the Packers and feel good about
Speaker 1: yourself going to the off season, so there is not
Speaker 1: a playoff spot on the line. One of the few
Speaker 1: times in recent memory that the Packers have played a
Speaker 1: Week seventeen game that statistically in the win lost column
Speaker 1: is meaningless. But there's still a lot on the line
Speaker 1: here for the Packers, trying to show that Okay, we
Speaker 1: came back, we rallied against the Jets, and now we
Speaker 1: can be that offense again for full sixty minutes against
Speaker 1: the Lions. Yeah, and as you said, the Detroit Lions
Speaker 1: trying to avoid losing eight out of ten to end
Speaker 1: their rookie head coaches season. So yeah, lots more to
Speaker 1: talk about as the week continues here on Packers Unscripted,
Speaker 1: But but for now, excuse me, we will call it
Speaker 1: a wrap on this edition. Be sure to follow all
Speaker 1: of our coverage of the team on Packers dot Com
Speaker 1: on Twitter. He's at west Hot, I'm at Mike Spofford
Speaker 1: at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody,
Speaker 1: See you next time, BA