Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined by my
Speaker 1: partner in crime, Wes Hodkowitz, were coming to you here
Speaker 1: from our studios at lambeau Field West. The Packers are
Speaker 1: headed to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. It is
Speaker 1: a Sunday three pm Central Time kickoff flexed from an
Speaker 1: original noon kickoffs, so if you have the schedule from
Speaker 1: the beginning of the season, be aware that this game
Speaker 1: was moved into the late afternoon time slot. The Baltimore
Speaker 1: Ravens West. This is a team much like just a
Speaker 1: few weeks ago, and we're talking about the Minnesota Vikings,
Speaker 1: although the Ravens are in much better playoff position fighting
Speaker 1: for a division title. But this is a team that
Speaker 1: has been in a ton of close games, nine one
Speaker 1: score games so far this season. They've lost three of
Speaker 1: their last five, but their last two losses back to
Speaker 1: back have been by a total of just three points
Speaker 1: um and uh their last four games have have all
Speaker 1: been decided by one score or less. This is a
Speaker 1: team that has played a lot of games the full
Speaker 1: sixty minutes all the way to the wire. And that's
Speaker 1: what you kind of have to expect here with the
Speaker 1: Packers going to Baltimore Sunday. Yeah, I mean, I think
Speaker 1: the iconic image of this season to this point has
Speaker 1: been you know, John Harbor and Lamar Jackson and just
Speaker 1: the number of times they've embraced after some of these
Speaker 1: absolute nail biers that they've been playing throughout the course
Speaker 1: of the year. And you know, you go back to
Speaker 1: training camp and in the off season program, they had
Speaker 1: about forty eight different running backs go down with season
Speaker 1: ending injuries. Um, I mean DeVante Freeman I think as
Speaker 1: their leading runner this year and he wasn't even on
Speaker 1: a team there for a while, aside from the quarterback
Speaker 1: jack Aside from the quarterback, absolutely, but I mean they're
Speaker 1: running back, but they still have a lot of weapons,
Speaker 1: whether it be Hollywood Brown, Mark Andrews Is you know,
Speaker 1: making a bid now to be probably considered among the best,
Speaker 1: if not the best tight end of the game, especially
Speaker 1: coming into his own and after he got that contract,
Speaker 1: and defensively, they just do what they always do. So
Speaker 1: the question all week, Mike is going to be the
Speaker 1: health of Lamar Jackson, where he's at with the with
Speaker 1: the ankle injury, how much he's gonna be able to do,
Speaker 1: how much they're gonna have to change the game plan.
Speaker 1: But I think when you're as battle tested as Baltimore is.
Speaker 1: I was asked the question insider inbox, who are these
Speaker 1: four teams are you most concerned about down the stretch. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I get why people would say the Browns. They just
Speaker 1: beat Baltimore, But to me, it really is the Ravens
Speaker 1: because they almost are kind of like an enhanced version
Speaker 1: of the Minnesota Vikings, where they found ways to win late,
Speaker 1: and they found ways to win creatively. Yeah, and I'm
Speaker 1: with you in terms of that question about these last
Speaker 1: four games, and I say it's I say it's the
Speaker 1: It's the Ravens, not only because it's the one right
Speaker 1: in front of the Packers, but because this is a
Speaker 1: game on the road. And I take nothing away from
Speaker 1: the Browns the Vikings, who obviously beat the Packers, but
Speaker 1: the Packers are gonna get those teams at home. This
Speaker 1: is a game. This is a game the Packers have
Speaker 1: to go on the road against a team that is
Speaker 1: that is fighting for a division title, fighting for playoff
Speaker 1: positioning in the a f C. And as you said,
Speaker 1: the biggest question is regarding quarterback Lamar Jackson. When you
Speaker 1: look at the statistics with regard to this Ravens team,
Speaker 1: they're one of the top rushing offenses in the league
Speaker 1: and one of the top rushing defenses in the league.
Speaker 1: The offensive side comes with the caveat that Lamar Jackson,
Speaker 1: their quarterback, is their leading rushers. So now the expectation,
Speaker 1: it sounds like, is that he is going to play
Speaker 1: on Sunday, But you just don't know with that ankle
Speaker 1: how close to a percent he will be or how
Speaker 1: far away from a percent he might be in terms
Speaker 1: of the running and the scrambling or designed runs or
Speaker 1: those kinds of things that are built into their offense.
Speaker 1: But on the defensive side, this is a legitimate, top
Speaker 1: level run defense, and I think that's what's gonna cause
Speaker 1: going to create a major challenge for the Packers, because,
Speaker 1: as I continue to say on this show and in
Speaker 1: our Insider Inbox column, this Packers offense is at its
Speaker 1: best when and it first goes through Aaron Jones and
Speaker 1: a J. Dillon, and the Packers don't want to get
Speaker 1: into some sort of just a straight drop back passing
Speaker 1: game against this defense. You've got to be able to
Speaker 1: run the ball even against the top rushing defenses, and
Speaker 1: that's going to be the challenge on something it's such
Speaker 1: a veteran name defense, Like there's just so many guys.
Speaker 1: You break it down and you look at who's playing
Speaker 1: for them. I mean Calias Campbell, who, in a lot
Speaker 1: of ways, I almost kind of consider him to be
Speaker 1: like the defensive version of Mercedes lewis a guy that
Speaker 1: the years passed and he just finds a way to
Speaker 1: keep getting it done and playing at a really high level.
Speaker 1: I think there's a number of times people have kind
Speaker 1: of written him off and he's just come right back
Speaker 1: and showing I can still be this player well into
Speaker 1: my thirties. You know, Justin Houston is playing for them,
Speaker 1: um justin meta book, I can I'm never pronounced his
Speaker 1: name right, but I mean, you know, and then Patrick
Speaker 1: Queen is the big guy that was you know, obviously
Speaker 1: gonna probably to some Packer fans always going to be
Speaker 1: in the back of their mind based on how draft
Speaker 1: played out. Not a ton of sacks, but I mean
Speaker 1: in terms of just what they've been able to do,
Speaker 1: uh in forcing teams into long down and distances, and
Speaker 1: obviously being able to control the tempo up front. It's
Speaker 1: a challenging unit and I feel like Matt Lafleur really
Speaker 1: summed it up perfectly. He said it on Monday and
Speaker 1: he kind of reiterated again on on Wednesday. They will
Speaker 1: challenge you in both sides of the ball with schemes
Speaker 1: that no one else really does. I mean nobody else does.
Speaker 1: Obviously offensively what Lamar Jackson can do, and even the backup,
Speaker 1: whether it was r G three before or now Tyler Huntley,
Speaker 1: since that torch was passed from Joe Flacco to Jackson,
Speaker 1: they've committed to this is the face of our offense.
Speaker 1: This is how we're going to operate. It doesn't even
Speaker 1: matter if Lamar is available or not. And defensively, there's
Speaker 1: just been such a big blueprint there that's been built
Speaker 1: for the better part of two decades that they continue
Speaker 1: to hang their hat on. So certainly a team that's
Speaker 1: going to be very interesting to face for my money,
Speaker 1: and not that we're gonna get into, you know, keys
Speaker 1: of victory yet, but it really comes down to the
Speaker 1: mistakes Jackson's made with the football this year and defensively
Speaker 1: finding ways to make plays against because when you look
Speaker 1: at Baltimore's defense, there's just not gonna be a lot
Speaker 1: of big plays to be had. It's just not the
Speaker 1: way they operate. Yeah, I think from the Packers defensive perspective,
Speaker 1: the really interesting challenge that's created in this game is
Speaker 1: that combination, assuming Lamar Jackson does play, the combination of
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson with that tight end. Mark Andrews is having
Speaker 1: a big time year. I think he's around seventy five catches,
Speaker 1: nine some yards, whatever it is. But the reason I
Speaker 1: mentioned those two guys in tandem is because we're getting
Speaker 1: asked by lots of fans and insider inbox. Okay, so
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson is going to do all this running around like, okay,
Speaker 1: don't you just put a spy on him? Right? Okay,
Speaker 1: So that's one potential solution, and one guy who could
Speaker 1: be a spy would be Devandre Campbell, you know, the
Speaker 1: guy in the middle of the Packers defense. But then
Speaker 1: who's covering the tight end, who's covering Andrews. If you're
Speaker 1: going to spy the quarterback with your best inside linebacker,
Speaker 1: that's the challenge I think with regard to this Ravens
Speaker 1: defense and It's one of the reasons that Mark Andrews
Speaker 1: has really come into his own and become one of
Speaker 1: the most productive tight ends in the league because there's
Speaker 1: a there's a matchup issue here with how you how
Speaker 1: you try to contain Lamar Jackson and keep an eye
Speaker 1: on him with all of his running around, but then
Speaker 1: deal with with that matchup at tight end, because you know,
Speaker 1: not to say that that Adrian Amos or Darnell Savage
Speaker 1: couldn't cover Lamar Jackson, but you're talking about a big
Speaker 1: size difference there and and then a bigger target for
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson to throw the ball at. And this is
Speaker 1: where it goes back to the ankle and how much
Speaker 1: is that going to restrict him? What is going to
Speaker 1: be his flexibility within the pocket? You know, I don't
Speaker 1: want to use that just a traditional You got to
Speaker 1: force him be a pocket pastor because I feel like
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson doesn't get enough credit there when he has
Speaker 1: to play that way. I think he can play really well,
Speaker 1: but his biggest strength is what he can create in
Speaker 1: allowing his playmakers downfield to to create some big plays.
Speaker 1: You look at the way they've built this thing, Mike, Yes,
Speaker 1: it is about Andrews, but Hollywood Brown was drafted for
Speaker 1: a reason, Sammy Watkins was brought in for a reason.
Speaker 1: You know, Rashad Bateman just is coming off his first
Speaker 1: hundred yard game now that he's back from the groin injury.
Speaker 1: And Devin Duverney, who the Packers are gonna have to
Speaker 1: contest without special teams, also can be a dynamic playmaker
Speaker 1: for them. They are a home run hitting offense. They
Speaker 1: aren't a team that's necessarily gonna be like, Okay, Freeman, Murray,
Speaker 1: we're gonna set you up. We're gonna just run the
Speaker 1: ball a couple of times, try to get in third,
Speaker 1: manageable and create. No, they're gonna just throw the script
Speaker 1: at you from the very beginning, especially sometimes as you mentioned,
Speaker 1: seven hundred plus yards already this year on the ground
Speaker 1: for Lamar Jackson. They are going to look to hit
Speaker 1: you with big shots. And that's where I feel like
Speaker 1: finding out what that first quarter looks like and what
Speaker 1: the game plan that the Ravens are gonna devise is
Speaker 1: really going to be telling, because again, as I wrote
Speaker 1: an inbox this week, only the Ravens really know what
Speaker 1: Jackson can do right now, how limited he truly is
Speaker 1: he would be. I know he left the game in
Speaker 1: the walking boot, but Mike, you and I saw it
Speaker 1: for an entire season. We saw Eddie Lacy or a
Speaker 1: half season in two thousand thirteen. Every day in the
Speaker 1: locker room was in a walking boot. But then on
Speaker 1: Sundays he was good to go. So you never really
Speaker 1: it can be too quite sure. But the fact of
Speaker 1: the matter is, no matter how you boil it down,
Speaker 1: it's a boult Lamar Jackson and the Packers how they
Speaker 1: defend him preseason in two thousand nineteen. A couple of
Speaker 1: those guys in this defense we're here for that, they
Speaker 1: saw him for two series. They saw how dynamic he
Speaker 1: can be. Yeah. Absolutely, and you mentioned it as well.
Speaker 1: Special teams John Harbaugh, as we all know, he cut
Speaker 1: his teeth in this league as a special teams coach.
Speaker 1: The Baltimore Ravens have always traditionally been one of the
Speaker 1: better special teams units in the league. The Packers struggling
Speaker 1: mightily in that area, as we know. I'll say this,
Speaker 1: remember back after the Packers victory over Washington and the
Speaker 1: defense let Taylor Heineke, the Washington quarterback, run around a
Speaker 1: little bit too much and the following on a short week.
Speaker 1: The following week, the Packers were gonna have to face
Speaker 1: Kyler Murray and the Cardinals, and I said, sometimes sometimes
Speaker 1: you get the reminder, you know, you get kind of
Speaker 1: you get kind of that kick in the pants with
Speaker 1: regard to, you know, letting something get away from you. Now,
Speaker 1: the Packers, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, these running,
Speaker 1: you know, scrambling running quarterbacks, they've done a pretty good
Speaker 1: job and I think the game against Washington was the
Speaker 1: type of reminder they needed. Now. Special teams have been
Speaker 1: an issue in a lot of different areas throughout the
Speaker 1: year for the Packers. But maybe at some point you
Speaker 1: gotta hit rock bottom and then you've got to face
Speaker 1: a team that is going to throw everything they've got
Speaker 1: at you in that phase because they're really really good
Speaker 1: at it to get you where you need to be
Speaker 1: in that phase. Maybe this is this is the right
Speaker 1: kind of challenge for the Packers to uh to get
Speaker 1: ready for the stretch run and to be where they
Speaker 1: need to be. It's so much credit in New England
Speaker 1: for their special teams and the core special teamers that
Speaker 1: they've had for a number of years, you know, drafting
Speaker 1: the long snapper, all that stuff, right, I really feel
Speaker 1: like people forget just how good of a special teams
Speaker 1: coordinator John Harbaugh was before he became of the Ravens,
Speaker 1: you know, more than a decade ago. And in some
Speaker 1: ways he's also committed himself to a core group of
Speaker 1: special teamers, one of whom is Anthony Levine, who was
Speaker 1: with the Packers a long time ago. I remember talking
Speaker 1: to him in the in the auxiliary locker room when
Speaker 1: he was trying to make the team as an undrafted
Speaker 1: free agent. He's been a core guy for them now
Speaker 1: for a decade. You know, justin Tucker, for my money,
Speaker 1: the best kicker in the game right now, who I think,
Speaker 1: But if you know, if he can keep the longevity
Speaker 1: side of it up, I think he's gonna be end
Speaker 1: up being right there with that Invent Terry and these
Speaker 1: other greats in terms of just what he's the span
Speaker 1: of his career and what he's accomplished. You know, Sam Cook, Uh,
Speaker 1: you know the record that Mason Crosby has right now
Speaker 1: for kickers with consecutive games played, Cook is the one
Speaker 1: that stands in front of him with how many games
Speaker 1: in a row. He's played for the Baltimore Ravens, So
Speaker 1: they're all across the board. They're stolid, and DuVernay is
Speaker 1: sort of the the catalyst to all this um kickoff
Speaker 1: return wise was probably not a lot that's gonna stun you,
Speaker 1: but fourteen and a half yards per return on punts. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and especially coming off of what happened last week, you've
Speaker 1: gotta imagine that the Ravens are going to be really
Speaker 1: looking to maximize those opportunities. And Mike, how many times
Speaker 1: do we say it, It's not just special teams. It
Speaker 1: can be on offense, it can be on defense. If
Speaker 1: you put something on film that isn't great, that doesn't
Speaker 1: look good for you, the opposition is going to look
Speaker 1: to attack it. So green Bay has to be prepared
Speaker 1: for that, because what the raven saw last week that's
Speaker 1: gonna be something has them lock in their chops. Yeah. Absolutely, Well,
Speaker 1: I want to get to our keys to victory in
Speaker 1: this game, but first a little bit of sponsored business.
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Speaker 1: in better. All right, We've already touched on a few
Speaker 1: things obviously, but boil it down to your top priority
Speaker 1: or maybe or two priorities. West keys to victory here
Speaker 1: for the Packers to come back from Baltimore at eleven
Speaker 1: and three, just win the turnover battle. It is that simple. Uh.
Speaker 1: Baltimore is a team that doesn't take the ball away
Speaker 1: a whole lot, and they give the ball away more
Speaker 1: than the average team. I think they're twenty nine right now,
Speaker 1: about like minus eight or nine in terms of net differential. Uh,
Speaker 1: that that has to be the key. As stout as
Speaker 1: Baltimore is in a lot of these phases, they're kind
Speaker 1: of unspectacular in that way. There isn't, you know, the
Speaker 1: big plays to to be made defensively, So that's pretty
Speaker 1: remarkable that they're actually that far in the whole internover
Speaker 1: margin for the season. Yet they are right there to
Speaker 1: to potentially win a division title in the a f C.
Speaker 1: Nor they're really the only team that's kind of contending
Speaker 1: right now. That has a differential that's that low. Washington
Speaker 1: is in the mix, but mostly for a wild card spot.
Speaker 1: Cincinnati is also in that division with them, they're in
Speaker 1: that lower third as well, but otherwise you're kind of
Speaker 1: down there with the Detroits and the New York Jets
Speaker 1: of the world. So that I feel like that's so
Speaker 1: whether it is Jackson or maybe if you see Tyler Huntley,
Speaker 1: either one of those guys, I think you gotta pressure them.
Speaker 1: You've got to get the ball out, and when you
Speaker 1: get opportunities, you have to make a play on the
Speaker 1: ball because if you don't make the Ravens respect that,
Speaker 1: it is going to be a heck of a long
Speaker 1: afternoon in Baltimore. Yeah. Absolutely for me. For me, the
Speaker 1: keys to this boiled down to two things I already mentioned. One,
Speaker 1: you've got to find a way to run the ball
Speaker 1: against a really really good rush defense. You've got to
Speaker 1: find a way to run it. You've got to you've
Speaker 1: got to stick with it even if it's not working.
Speaker 1: You have to make them honor the run for four quarters.
Speaker 1: And the other thing to me, and this this goes
Speaker 1: to the special teams issue, is it's about field position.
Speaker 1: This Packers defense, if they have seventy five to eighty
Speaker 1: yards to defend, they're gonna be pretty darn good. You know.
Speaker 1: If the Bravens are getting the ball at the yard
Speaker 1: line the way the Bears were um on Sunday night,
Speaker 1: if you're losing the field position battle that way, that
Speaker 1: that's gonna put this defense in a tough spot against
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson and Mark Anderson and these other these other weapons.
Speaker 1: So for me, it's running the ball and doing a
Speaker 1: better job in field position compared to the last game. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And then the other side of this too. You know
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers, and it's so simple to say that, but
Speaker 1: I mean, when you look at how he's played, I
Speaker 1: came up with that stat. I mean, anyone could have
Speaker 1: come up with it, but it was something I drew
Speaker 1: on my story last week fourteen passer rating night. Right now,
Speaker 1: in these four games where he's dealt with the toe injury,
Speaker 1: whatever is going on with that little toe, the little
Speaker 1: foot massages or whatever he was the toe massages he
Speaker 1: kind of was joking about on McAfee show, it obviously
Speaker 1: is working for him, and you hope whatever he's dealing
Speaker 1: at the pain. That's kind of you know, happening for
Speaker 1: him on game days. He's finding a way to get
Speaker 1: above it. And I think if he's able to sort
Speaker 1: of penetrate in dismantle this defense the way he did
Speaker 1: last week against Chicago, different challenge, different unit, But I
Speaker 1: think this team Green Bay being in the driver's seat now,
Speaker 1: everybody understands a sense of urgency here and I think
Speaker 1: you're going to see the best version of twelve. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's it's really remarkable. What uh And we probably haven't
Speaker 1: talked about it enough in some respects, but the job
Speaker 1: that Aaron Rodgers has done, the production that he has had,
Speaker 1: despite the fact that he's not practicing. I mean, he
Speaker 1: and Matt Lafleura and Nathaniel Hackett and Luke Getzy are
Speaker 1: essentially putting together a game plan without Rogers really taking
Speaker 1: any full speed reps in in practice throughout the week.
Speaker 1: And yes, there have been slow starts and whatnot, but
Speaker 1: you know, um, imagine what I mean if they had
Speaker 1: actually gotten off to a fast start against the Bears,
Speaker 1: with where that game went from the second quarter on,
Speaker 1: I mean, what the offense might have might have done
Speaker 1: against Chicago last Sunday night. I do want to talk
Speaker 1: about some other games around the league that that are
Speaker 1: in the playoff picture. But first, Packers fans, if you're
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Speaker 1: Packers Pro Shop. The four volume hardcover books set tells
Speaker 1: the true complete story of the Packers first century, from
Speaker 1: humble beginnings to heartbreaks and triumphs. By air copy, online
Speaker 1: or in store today. Alright around the League West, here
Speaker 1: are the games involving the other NFC contenders that are
Speaker 1: up there in this mix. For U, for the number
Speaker 1: one seed, with the Packers currently sitting in the driver's seat,
Speaker 1: you have Arizona is at Detroit. Dallas is at the
Speaker 1: New York Giants. I think we both know both of
Speaker 1: those would be major upsets if the if the home teams,
Speaker 1: if the home teams were able to Troit trying to
Speaker 1: keep its playoff hopes alive. Okay, um, Seattle is at
Speaker 1: the l A Rams in an interesting one. They're in
Speaker 1: the NFC West. And then I believe it's going to
Speaker 1: be right after the Packers Ravens game, after the late
Speaker 1: Sunday afternoon window was over. The night game on Sunday
Speaker 1: as New Orleans at Tampa Bay. The Saints having beaten
Speaker 1: the Buccaneers. Um, they are responsible for one of Tampa
Speaker 1: Bay's three losses already the season. The Saints now going
Speaker 1: down to Ampa um looking for the season sweet but um,
Speaker 1: your thoughts on any of those games that are involving
Speaker 1: the NFC contenders, this could be the one that gives
Speaker 1: the Bucks the biggest fit down this stretch. Maybe we
Speaker 1: were asked about the Packers and which one is concerning you,
Speaker 1: and there are some really intriguing matchups right for them.
Speaker 1: I mean, when you look at this game, this is
Speaker 1: not a give me by any means against Baltimore team
Speaker 1: that is destined looks to be headed towards the playoffs. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know you're gonna have Cleveland that's still in this thing.
Speaker 1: We know the challenge already with the Vikings. You saw
Speaker 1: it last month when they beat them, and we know
Speaker 1: the Vikings are going to be fighting for a wild
Speaker 1: card spot. And then Monday night they have Chicago, So
Speaker 1: I mean they're they're going to probably be in the
Speaker 1: thick of this thing as well. If if they are
Speaker 1: able to take care of business there. As far as
Speaker 1: the Bucks are concerned, it's not like that. Uh, this
Speaker 1: is probably their biggest test. I think things are really
Speaker 1: going in the wrong direction right now for for Carolina,
Speaker 1: and they get to see them twice. Uh, just seeing
Speaker 1: if there can be some tastom hill magic something there
Speaker 1: that could challenge Tampa, because otherwise they look like they're
Speaker 1: just steamrolling towards the playoffs right now. San Francisco and
Speaker 1: Atlanta is a really interesting game because I think you
Speaker 1: were the one that mentioned, I mean San Francisco the
Speaker 1: team that I don't know if anyone really wants to
Speaker 1: play them right now, because you're never really can be
Speaker 1: sure what you're gonna get from them, but you also
Speaker 1: know you're gonna get a tough game. And Atlanta very
Speaker 1: quietly has kept themselves in this thing. It has not
Speaker 1: been pretty down there and for the Falcons, but they've
Speaker 1: still found ways to win the games are supposed to
Speaker 1: win to be in this position. And certainly, as you
Speaker 1: touched on, I mean Arizona, this is the week where
Speaker 1: the Packers probably you're gonna have to keep pace because
Speaker 1: you just I would be really difficult to first see
Speaker 1: a scenario in which the Lions are able to give
Speaker 1: them a game. Yeah, and just so the fans do
Speaker 1: understand the scenario at this point, If the Packers win
Speaker 1: on Sunday, they are the NFC North champs. The magic
Speaker 1: number is one. A Packers victory locks up the division.
Speaker 1: If the Packers were to lose, then a loss by
Speaker 1: Minnesota they play Monday night at Chicago. Lost by Minnesota
Speaker 1: would would wrap up the division for the Packers. Hopefully
Speaker 1: green Bay can just take care of it um on
Speaker 1: their own and then you know, you can cheer for
Speaker 1: whichever NFC North rival you hate more, cheer against whichever
Speaker 1: one I hate more. One other one I'd want to
Speaker 1: ask you about because you mentioned San Francisco in Atlanta,
Speaker 1: which I do think is an interesting game as well.
Speaker 1: And this is another one that doesn't really affect the
Speaker 1: Packers per se, but is going to factor into the
Speaker 1: wild card race in the NFC. And that's Washington and
Speaker 1: Philadelphia to NFC East teams. Um hard to know again
Speaker 1: sort of what you're gonna get necessarily week to week
Speaker 1: from these teams. But the winner of this both of
Speaker 1: these teams are six and seven. The winner of this
Speaker 1: game gets to seven and seven with three games to go,
Speaker 1: and it's going to be right in the mix here
Speaker 1: to be to be playing in the middle of January.
Speaker 1: I thought last year sort of sort of showed Ron
Speaker 1: Rivera's brilliance as a head coach. I think this year
Speaker 1: has been even more impressive for for them to do
Speaker 1: what they've done for their plans early in the season,
Speaker 1: to get completely thrown out the door by this hip
Speaker 1: injury to Ryan Fitzpatrick. For you know, Ler Haneke, who
Speaker 1: has barely been with them for a year now. I
Speaker 1: think it was around this time last year you got
Speaker 1: signed to the practice squad. Um. The issues they've had
Speaker 1: in the backfield, the issues they've had with their defensive
Speaker 1: front Jonathan Allen this week going on the COVID list.
Speaker 1: They've had so many things kind of working against them,
Speaker 1: and yet they find ways to win ball games. And
Speaker 1: they almost pulled off a crazy comeback against against the
Speaker 1: Cowboys last week when they fell behind twenty four nothing
Speaker 1: at halftime. Yeah, and in Philadelphia. I'll be honest with you, Mike,
Speaker 1: probably more so than any team in the NFC. I
Speaker 1: don't know a lot about them. I just they've been
Speaker 1: so far kind of in the back pages this year.
Speaker 1: Obviously Gardner Minshew had to step in there for a minute.
Speaker 1: So like, it's I don't really know how to make
Speaker 1: heads or tails of this game, other than the fact
Speaker 1: that with seven teams making the playoffs now in sixteen
Speaker 1: team conferences, you're going to see teams like this who
Speaker 1: otherwise might have been looking towards an eight and eight season,
Speaker 1: probably not a postseason bid. There's suddenly ain't going to
Speaker 1: be in contention until the very end. Yeah. Absolutely, that's
Speaker 1: kind of the way this is shaping up really in
Speaker 1: in in both conference is the way I mean, they're
Speaker 1: going to be, for better or worse, They're going to
Speaker 1: be a ton of games in Week eighteen. That that
Speaker 1: where teams are still going to be alive. They're not
Speaker 1: necessarily going to be eliminated. Um, they're gonna be teams
Speaker 1: sitting there going, Okay, if we win our game and
Speaker 1: then if you know, A, B, C, and D all happened,
Speaker 1: like we can get in you know like that that
Speaker 1: that feels like where this is headed potentially both in
Speaker 1: the NFC and the a F s well. And this
Speaker 1: is if the NFL was ever to do the hey
Speaker 1: stick it hot kind of thing like this was the
Speaker 1: year to do it. Because I'm still not a fan
Speaker 1: of fourteen team playoff. I'm not I like I like
Speaker 1: the system. I liked the system the way it was before.
Speaker 1: I wish I wish there were still the reward for
Speaker 1: two teams in each conference to get a first round
Speaker 1: by just because the regular season is is such a
Speaker 1: grind and it's such a gauntlet. And the fact that
Speaker 1: and and the fact that this is set up now
Speaker 1: that that the number two seed has to play the
Speaker 1: number seven. I mean, you know, so all of that work.
Speaker 1: You could finish four or five wins ahead, four or
Speaker 1: five games ahead of that seven seed, yet your only
Speaker 1: reward is you you get to play him at home.
Speaker 1: You still have you still have to beat him to
Speaker 1: be able to continue your season. I'm not a fan.
Speaker 1: But what's funny about it is because the Jets, Houston
Speaker 1: and Jacksonville basically all punted on the season. You have
Speaker 1: some parody right now going on in the a f C.
Speaker 1: You have three teams that are out of it, and
Speaker 1: then what ten teams with seven or more wins, So
Speaker 1: I mean, realistically, it's gonna be down to the wire
Speaker 1: for those six and seven. It's kind of like that
Speaker 1: Arizona Cardinals year when the Cardinals missed the playoffs with
Speaker 1: ten wins. There's gonna be a team with a decent
Speaker 1: record that isn't gonna make this thing, just based on
Speaker 1: how things have gone to the a f C. As
Speaker 1: far as the NFC is concerned, I think it's definitely possible, Mike,
Speaker 1: that there's gonna be an eight win nine and eight
Speaker 1: and nine team that makes the playoffs. I think it's
Speaker 1: just the way it's going to happen. I agree with you.
Speaker 1: I think it will. So with that, we'll call it
Speaker 1: a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure
Speaker 1: to follow all of our coverage of the team, including
Speaker 1: all the coverage from Sunday's game against the Ravens. Will
Speaker 1: have it all for you on Packers dot Com for West,
Speaker 1: I'm Mike. Thanks for tuning in, everybody. We'll see you
Speaker 1: next time. H