WEBVTT - #454 Packers Unscripted: The forgotten and the controversial 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:20.960 Hi, everybody, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:24.640 I am Mike Spofford, joined as always by my trusted 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:27.040 colleague Wes Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:30.600 studios at lambeau Field and West. Normally on Wednesday, our 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.800 Wednesday show is devoted to looking ahead to the next opponent. 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.160 But with the Packers just having played on Monday night, 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:38.400 there's still a few too many things we need to 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.080 follow up on from that game, because it really is 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:45.280 one that has generated a lot of discussion, and I 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:46.640 want to get to some of the things with the 0:00:46.680 --> 0:00:50.360 officiating later on, but first I want to touch on 0:00:50.680 --> 0:00:53.159 some of the things that Matt Lafleur mentioned in his 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:56.880 Tuesday press conference in which he was bringing up some 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:01.040 of what you might call the the little known, the 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:05.080 behind the scenes types of plays, moments that happened in 0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:07.840 this game that allowed the Packers to come back not 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:10.600 once from thirteen points down, but then a second time 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:13.880 from nine points down in order to win this game. 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:16.399 And really it starts with the very first play of 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:19.280 the game with the flea flicker over the top to 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:23.120 Kenny Golladay and who's chasing him down to prevent a 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:26.440 touchdown from happening. But jaire Alexander one of the fastest 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:28.600 guys on the field. Yeah, coming from the other side 0:01:28.600 --> 0:01:32.000 of the field as Golladay sort of crossed the hash marks. 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:34.639 It was a great heads up play. And it's funny 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:38.080 because explosive plays hurt, right, They're called explosive for a reason. 0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:41.080 I mean, those are remember all the years Don Capers 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:43.320 will talking about it. The percentage chances that you have 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:45.360 of giving up points are giving up a touchdown after 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:48.520 you're explosive play. They just spike as soon as something 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:51.960 like that happens. But mentally, the Packers defense has just 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:55.800 been on a different plane this year. So for Alexander 0:01:55.840 --> 0:01:57.960 to get down field, trip him up at the ten 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:00.200 or eleven yard line, whatever it was in in the 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:03.360 defense to hold that was four points right there. At 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:06.480 the time, everybody's just looking at it and going right 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:08.680 off the bat, you know the Lions are scoring. It's 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:11.440 a huge play at this defense. You know they're getting 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:13.239 gash like this, and then when you get to the 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:15.080 fourth quarter you never really think back to it was 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:17.960 a little moment like that that ultimately keeps the Packers 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:20.360 in this game. Yeah, I mean, the Packers did catch 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:23.640 a break there with the fumbled snap, fumbled exchange on 0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:26.000 first down that put the Lions a little bit behind 0:02:26.040 --> 0:02:28.720 the chains on that series, but then second down, third down, 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:31.280 the Packers did get the stop and force the field goal. 0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:33.920 And yeah, bottom line is that's four points. Where a 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:36.320 big sixty six yard play if that's only going to 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:38.560 cost you three points, just as we were talking on 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:42.560 yesterday's show, when you commit turnovers on offense, but yet 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:44.720 those only cost you three points the other way as 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:46.600 opposed to seven. Those are the kinds of things that 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:48.560 add up in close ballgames. This is not what you 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:50.080 want to talk about, but I just want to because 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:52.160 it's a good moment for you to mention Jaire Alexander 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:54.720 one of the big gripes that I have, uh and 0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:56.160 I was guilty of it two when I was at 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:58.760 the newspapers. We we operate week to week. It's a 0:02:58.800 --> 0:03:01.640 three and six day new cycle. There seemed to be 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:04.000 this narrative that crept up in the last couple of 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:07.520 weeks and maybe Jr. Alexander isn't playing to form. You realize, 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:09.840 if you just focus on one player and you do 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:12.600 a story every week on that player, he's gonna play well, 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:14.320 there's gonna be not so good weeks, and then he's 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:17.400 gonna play well again. Alexander has played well more often 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:19.280 than not. And that's the reason why I believe he's 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:22.360 leading the league right now with ten passes defense. The 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:24.400 fact that you know, Pro Football Focus said he only 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:27.840 gave up one catch, which is a debatable to j D. 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:32.040 Mckessic for three yards. I mean, he just played a 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:34.440 whale of a ball game. And then obviously, as you 0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:37.560 mentioned there, even that wasn't his guy against Gallada, stayed 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:39.600 with the play, showed the effort, and was able to 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:41.600 get that tackle. Yeah, when you look at that flea 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:44.720 flicker on film, Alexander just turned and went into a 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:48.080 dead sprint as soon as Stafford released that ball and 0:03:48.120 --> 0:03:50.360 threw it deep, and that's why he was able to 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:53.640 end up catching up with Golladay. A similar thing in 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:58.480 uh one of your posts, an insider Inbox that you 0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:00.840 posted this morning, where a fan of pointed out, hey, 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:04.320 you know, a guy like Elton Jenkins running down Justin 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:09.360 Coleman after the goal line that and and Jenkins didn't 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:12.080 make the tackle, But that's that's an example of why 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:14.600 you always pursue and you never give up on a 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:17.279 play because just the more guys you can get anywhere 0:04:17.279 --> 0:04:20.159 near the ball on a return like that, he has 0:04:20.200 --> 0:04:21.800 to slow up or he has to try to make 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:23.960 a move, and then somebody can eventually get there. So 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:27.960 instead of that being ad interception return for a touchdown, 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.640 it's a fifty five yard return. The Packers defense holds 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:35.200 and they kick another field goal again, potentially four points 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:39.279 that are saved by just flat out hustling, awareness and 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:42.600 heavy play. And let's be honest here, I think if 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:44.920 you talk to Jason Simmons and Mike Petton, they want 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:49.200 to see that kind of energy and enthusiasm and you know, 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:51.240 just making that extra play from a guy like Jaire 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:54.599 Alexander who runs a four three whatever. Elton Jenkins is 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:57.000 an offensive lineman a lot of times. I'm not saying 0:04:57.000 --> 0:04:59.200 you preach this. You obviously want everybody running to the ball, 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:01.279 but those as are usually the ones that get the 0:05:01.320 --> 0:05:04.040 free pass if they maybe aren't getting downfield to make 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:06.640 that tackle. I just thought that said a lot about Jenkins. 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:09.599 I also thought I said a lot about his athleticism. Um, 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:11.880 even if he doesn't run like Jerry Olexander being able 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:14.560 to get downfield to make a play. He has really 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:16.960 impressed me. Mike, You've covered a lot more offensive lineman 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:18.560 than I have in Green Bay. But for a first 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:21.440 year player coming in. I was talking to Corey Lindsley 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:25.040 about it late last week. He's as impressive as any 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:27.360 rookie that they've had on that offensive line. I mean, 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:31.120 and that's a great offensive line where Bok Tri, Corey Lindsley, 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:33.680 they all played as rookies. Elton Jenkins is picking this 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:35.880 up as quickly as anybody. It's one of the reasons 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:37.919 why when they lost Lane Taylor, there really hasn't been 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:40.640 a hiccup at that spot. Yeah, and and not to 0:05:40.680 --> 0:05:43.400 take anything away from guys like Bok tr and Lindsley 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:47.000 who played very very well as rookies, but those were 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:50.120 guys who weren't necessarily going to play as rookies. They 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:52.480 were thrust into the role and they responded and they've 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:55.719 held down those jobs. Elton Jenkins was pressing for a 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:59.520 starting job from the day that he got here. And yes, 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:02.560 Lane Tiler's injury ended up you know, maybe expediting that 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:05.159 process or just made it more seamless in some ways 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:10.200 that he's replacing a veteran, but he has rewarded the 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:13.480 coach's faith in him right from the get go. Yeah, totally. 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:16.040 And it was funny too, because, uh, you know, listening 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:17.760 to Lindsley talk about it, he said, you know, when 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:19.560 you look at the offense that he was coming into 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:22.120 with Mike McCarthy and fourteen, and he said, it's just 0:06:22.279 --> 0:06:24.279 it's it's not quite day and night. But I mean, 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:26.640 with what Jenkins has been able to do picking up 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:29.920 Lafleur's scheme, it's the reason why for as athletic as 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:32.400 he is and as many measurables as there were making 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:34.680 it being a second round pick, the really reason, the 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:36.680 true reason behind why he's been able to play is 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:38.800 just the intelligence there to step in and know what 0:06:38.839 --> 0:06:40.720 he's doing. Yeah. Well, another one of the guys la 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:45.440 Fleur mentioned on Tuesday was defensive lineman Dean Lowry, and 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:47.560 boy did he play a whale of the ball game too. 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:50.720 Huh boy, And you look at this this Packers run defense. 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:52.560 La Fleur came right out and said it, Hey, it's 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:54.640 been a problem for a few weeks in terms of 0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:57.400 in terms of stopping the run. And yes, the Detroit 0:06:57.440 --> 0:06:59.880 Lions have never really had a very good running game, 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:03.560 but carry On Johnson has had his moments in this 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:05.680 league and has had his good games, and he could 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:08.960 not find anywhere to run. Thirteen carries for thirty four yards. 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:11.600 You take that against a number one running back from 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:14.320 an opponent any day of the week. And Dean Lowry 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:16.080 was a big part of that. So a couple of 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:19.320 things of this one. As you mentioned, the Detroit Lions 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:21.760 have not historically been a good running team, but two 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:23.960 weeks ago that game against Kansas City, they were in 0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:25.960 that because of carry On Johnson and how they were 0:07:25.960 --> 0:07:28.080 able to move the chains and control the tempo of 0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:30.960 the ball game and not making a shootout with Patrick Mahomes. 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:33.600 He's coming off a twenty five yard game, and I 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:35.680 know what the yards per catch a better yards per 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:38.960 Russia been for him this year. Not extraordinary, but when 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:42.680 used effectively and consistently in building that momentum, he's been 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:46.000 really difficult to stop. The Packers did that in this game, 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:47.760 and I think, you know, I talked to Lowry by 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:50.640 myself after the game, and you could kind of feel 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:53.040 like he said there was some gratification there. They heard 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:54.960 what people have been saying. They know they haven't been 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:57.160 playing the way they wanted to. And I, you know, 0:07:57.200 --> 0:07:58.960 not to speak for Lowery, but I think he really 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:02.200 did take that a lot on himself to be accountable into, 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:04.680 you know, step up in that situation. I think the 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:07.120 Packers were smarter with how they use their defensive lineman 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:09.760 in this game. I didn't see them jet rushing as much. 0:08:09.800 --> 0:08:12.120 I sat saw them paying a little bit more attention 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:14.960 to the gap and then getting up field. Yeah, right, 0:08:14.960 --> 0:08:17.960 it wasn't it was. It wasn't as much upfield attack 0:08:18.320 --> 0:08:20.320 right at the line of right. It was more just 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:24.080 being sound and fundamental. I thought he Kenny Clark and 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:26.800 give a lot of credit to Tyler Lancaster and Montrevia's 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:29.680 Adams too for how they rotated in. It was funny, Mike, 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:31.800 you go back about six years ago. I remember talking 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:34.760 with my old colleagues at the Press Gazette, like, you know, 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:37.040 pays defense. It's just kind of thing of the past. 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:38.840 I mean, it's getting to be more and more nickel. 0:08:39.240 --> 0:08:42.520 You base your front off of those two interior defensive tackles, 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:44.720 and you've got your edge rushers and that's the whole 0:08:44.800 --> 0:08:48.360 kitten caboodle. And now the last two seasons especially, you've 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:50.720 seen the Packers, I would argue, and I don't have 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:52.679 the stands in front of me. You've seen the base 0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:55.360 defense spike in this league the last few season. It 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:57.559 probably goes hand in hand with the running back resurgence 0:08:57.600 --> 0:09:00.199 that we've seen. We've seen more of it this year 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:04.280 in with those defensive linemen doing their job against the lines. 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:07.040 I think that freed up Blake Martinez, b J. Goodson 0:09:07.360 --> 0:09:09.800 to be able to, you know, get into those gaps 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:12.760 fit have the room to make plays. And as you said, 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:14.480 I mean the longest run of the day was Matthew 0:09:14.520 --> 0:09:17.600 Stafford's tenure at scramble. You know, whether it was mckissic 0:09:17.920 --> 0:09:22.040 or whether it was the other running Johnson Johnson whose 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:25.000 names escaping me now Carrie on Johnson. Regardless of who 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:27.480 it was, they weren't able to get traction. Yeah. Well, 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:30.400 if you want to see one snapshot anyway of Dean 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:32.600 Lowry against the run by what you might have missed 0:09:32.679 --> 0:09:35.800 for this game, which just posted on the website shortly 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:37.959 before we came in here to take this. I take 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:39.760 a look at the goal line stand sort of the 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:42.400 goal line stand that wasn't because the Packers ended up 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:46.040 giving up the touchdown. Close call, I know. But the 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:49.679 first downplay, which is part of that segment, if you 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:51.480 want to take a look at it, Dean Lowry just 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:55.200 it's absolutely textbook run defense. He sheds the block and 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:57.800 blast carry on Johnson in the hole. It's at from 0:09:57.800 --> 0:09:59.559 the three yard line, and it's no game. It goes 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:01.480 from first to go on the three, to second and 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:03.600 go on the three, and Lowry is the guy that 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:05.360 makes the play. So if you want to get a 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:07.600 quick look at that, that is on our site. Yeah. 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:09.520 I just felt like he played like his tail on fire. 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:11.599 I mean, in real time, I felt that way, but 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:13.480 especially when I went back and looked at it. Certainly 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:15.080 you broke down the all twenty two of it. But 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:16.880 when I finally got chance to go back and watch 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:19.800 the TV copy, I mean, he just Dean Lowry. I 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:22.920 thought it wasn't his biggest statistical performance. It was only 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:24.600 four tackles, but I thought it was just a really 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:26.920 solid all around outing that he had. Yeah, there's no reason. 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:29.600 There's a reason the Packers gave him a contract extension 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:32.520 before this year started. All right, I do want to 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:34.920 get to, as we promised on yesterday's show, some of 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:37.400 our thoughts about the officiating and how things went down 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.679 in this game against the Lions. I know you and 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:43.839 I are in agreement on this, so we'll definitely start 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:46.480 here with regards to the two hands to the face 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:50.360 penalties on Trey Flowers that the entire city of Detroit, 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:52.560 most of the state of Michigan is up in arms 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:55.720 over how I just went down. Well, yeah, lower Michigan 0:10:55.760 --> 0:11:01.360 certainly lower. Right. Um, you and I we discussed this 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:04.240 at lunch yesterday. You wrote about it an insider inbox. 0:11:04.280 --> 0:11:07.520 For me, it's the fool me once, fool me twice 0:11:07.720 --> 0:11:10.240 kind of line. I mean, yeah, if Flowers is upset 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:12.520 about the calls, well, you got called for it once 0:11:12.520 --> 0:11:14.920 in the fourth quarter. So the fact that you got 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:17.320 called for it again later in the fourth quarter, you 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:19.439 can blame the ref cell you want on the first one, 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:21.439 but then the second ones on you because you were 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:23.960 doing the same thing that got you called in the 0:11:24.000 --> 0:11:26.640 first place. That's how I look at it. He could 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:29.720 have avoided the second one, certainly, and uh, and I 0:11:29.760 --> 0:11:32.839 put it on him. Yeah, Um, it's the old Einstein thing, right. 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:37.240 I mean, here, here's the thing. There's a couple of 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:40.800 different columns and analysis and that have been written in 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:44.280 the preceding days, some outraged, some you know a little 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:47.520 bit more towards the middle. In my general takeaway has been, 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:49.520 because you know, this is how I always handle these things. 0:11:49.520 --> 0:11:51.240 I go when I read all the sources, I've taken 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:53.960 all the opinions, and then I you know, proceed from there. 0:11:54.679 --> 0:11:57.880 There's two major things that you have to consider if 0:11:57.880 --> 0:11:59.880 you're a Packer fan or you're a Lion fan. In 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:03.000 this is objective. This is not subjective. This is not opinionated. 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:07.040 This is the truth. The lines didn't finish drives. They didn't. 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:09.360 They end up having to settle for five field goals. 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:12.280 When you kick that many field goals and you're playing 0:12:12.280 --> 0:12:15.680 another team on the road, not a recipe for the success. 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:19.720 If you're going to do that and you're going to 0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:23.119 leave those points on the board, you have to understand. 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:24.960 I'm guessing all these people who are outrage have never 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:27.679 played an R and G game before, But you have 0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:30.640 to understand that there's going to be factors out of 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:33.360 your control that are going to dictate the final outcome 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:35.200 of the game. It doesn't matter if it's an injury, 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:37.680 it doesn't matter if it's a penalty, it doesn't matter 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.240 if the wind changes direction and the field goals aarry. 0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:44.800 You can't count on every factor to give you a close, 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:47.000 narrow victory. The Green Bay Packers know that as well 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:48.599 as any team in the NFL right now. When you 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:51.520 go back to last season, there's randomness to the should 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.440 have won the game against the Minnesota Vikings. The randomness 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:56.680 and the close knit nature of that game did not 0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:59.520 allow them to. And you have to move on. So 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:01.760 the big point I'm trying to make you here is 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:03.839 the vitriol and I've seen a lot of it in 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:07.640 my mentions that people have over this thing. Get a grip, 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:11.120 move on because the fact of the matter is is 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:14.160 that if that game would have been seven, none of 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:17.480 that matters. And getting back to your original point about Flowers, 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:20.880 I'm not saying he was wrong, you know, And and 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:22.920 certainly the NFL has had their two cents on it 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:26.199 now and Troy Vincent has spoken his two cents. But 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:28.480 the way I see it is they were the kids 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:30.760 in the classroom. They were not the chaperones. They were 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:33.120 not the teacher. The teacher told them a certain way 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:36.120 that this classroom is going to run today, and Flowers 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:39.120 still win against it. I'm not saying it's right. But 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:40.720 when you go home to your parents and you have 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:43.240 the two pink slips from the day and you've got 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:46.360 to explain to what happened, I mean, maybe your parents 0:13:46.440 --> 0:13:48.160 patchy on the back and tell you what's gonna happen. 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:49.720 I know my dad would have been like, why didn't 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:52.280 you correct your action the first time? That's my point, 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:56.679 and I understand I understand the frustration of the Detroit 0:13:56.760 --> 0:13:59.000 Lions fans when you're talking about all the way back 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:01.400 to the Calvin Johnson play that started everything about the 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:04.199 catch rule, and the playoff game in Dallas with the 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.160 past interference that wasn't called, and the Monday night game 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:09.680 against Seattle when the guy bats the ball out of 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:12.280 the end zone and they completely botched that call, and 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:14.920 there have been others. I get it. I get the frustration, 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:19.560 but the league, in some ways west My next point 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:21.840 is that the league in some ways also does this 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:24.760 to itself with these points of emphasis that they come 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.280 up with every year. Hands to the face has been 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:31.280 a point of emphasis, So has offensive holding. We've seen 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:34.160 David bak Tr get called for offensive holding this year 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:36.720 more than he has maybe in the last two or 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:40.560 three years combined. Is a three time All Pro suddenly 0:14:40.640 --> 0:14:44.720 a penalty prone liability on the offensive line? No, he's not. 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:48.000 It's this point of emphasis thing, and bok Tr is 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:50.560 still trying to adjust to it. And to his credit, 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:52.880 he's not standing in front of his locker every week 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:56.200 talking to reporters and complaining, sorry, I had to catch 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:58.880 myself before I said the wrong word, complaining about the 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:02.320 fact that he's getting getting calls when these are the 0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:04.240 types of things that haven't been called in the past. 0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:07.640 So the league does this to itself and does this 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:11.920 to the players with these points of emphasis, and it's 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:14.880 only going to be natural, it's only human nature for 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.480 officials when they're put on notice with these points of emphasis. 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:21.080 That means the league wants to see the calls. So 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:23.840 guess what the players are going to be the victims here, 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:26.520 And that's how this thing goes. If the league wants 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:29.800 to avoid all of this and all this officiating controversy, 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:33.320 the single point of emphasis, quite frankly, needs to be 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:38.160 If it's not obvious, don't call it, because nobody's gonna complain, right, 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:41.640 nobody's gonna see it on the video, nobody's But the 0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:44.240 league is not saying the point of emphasis is if 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:46.920 it's not obvious, don't call it. The league is saying, 0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:49.520 this is a point of emphasis. That's a point of emphasis. 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:53.480 So they're judging the officials on making these kinds of calls. 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:55.720 So this is where we are. Yeah, this is where 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:57.240 you have to where you are and how you have 0:15:57.280 --> 0:15:59.120 to adapt. It's the same reason why to to man 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:02.200 Patricious credit it. I know there was the complaining a 0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:04.840 little bit about Will Redmond if there's too much contact 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:07.720 down field. I was totally on board with Patricia not 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:09.680 calling it because if you follow the stats one of 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:12.480 the last twenty four when teams have been trying to 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:15.000 get a p I call offer of you have been successful, 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:17.720 those odds do not weigh in your favor. It's going 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:19.440 to be what the call on the field is. And 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:22.120 he made the right adjustment, I think, honestly. As I 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:26.160 also wrote an insider inbox on Wednesday, Patricia said all 0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:28.520 the right things. He said, we need to play better, 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:30.640 we need to finish drives, We need to do those things. 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:32.680 He knew this game was in their hands and they 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:36.320 and they let it. As you said, initially, the Lions 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:39.400 let this game become subject to all these others, all 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:42.000 the r G, all that type of stuff. And you know, 0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:44.240 Matt Prator was their m v P. He had a 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:46.800 phenomenal game. But you can just going back to that 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:49.840 well that many times you need to be able to execute, 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:52.000 you need to get points off of takeaways. That's why 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:53.720 the Packers were able to squeeze their way back in 0:16:53.720 --> 0:16:56.000 and too close on this with David bok tr I 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:57.480 think one thing that said a lot about box t 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:00.240 R two is after his holding penalty, he would out there. 0:17:00.240 --> 0:17:01.400 I don't know if you remember that drive. He was 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:06.239 out there talking to the ref minutes minutes between the 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:08.440 end of the field goal or what however the play ended, 0:17:08.560 --> 0:17:11.200 and then the opening kickoff. He's trying to figure this out. 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:13.320 He's working on him, showing him where he's going with 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:15.119 his hands, and then and he's trying to have that 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:18.760 dialogue and discord. That's what you need to be able 0:17:18.800 --> 0:17:20.679 to understand this. I'm not saying it played into how 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:23.000 things went later on, but if he's going to make 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:25.600 the corrections. He needs to have the communication. I'm not 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:28.720 saying Trey Flowers didn't, But the fact of the matter is, Mike, 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:32.159 whatever you want to say, and you can apologize to 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:35.320 Mrs Ford, you can apologize to every fan that has 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:38.520 ever you know, warrened Lion's jersey. That's all well and good. 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:40.800 The game is the game, the result is the result, 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:44.040 and the call is the call. And in that particular case, 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:47.440 Trey Flowers ended up getting called for it twice and 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:50.560 the Detroit Lions ended up losing. Yeah, one other thing 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:52.440 on the officiating that I want to touch on A 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:54.480 touched on it a little bit yesterday, and what I'm 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:56.520 talking about is the fourth and goal play for the 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:59.280 Detroit Lions, which of course was a huge call, a 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:01.679 huge moment in the game because that's the difference between 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:04.360 seven points and zero points. We talked about a lot 0:18:04.359 --> 0:18:07.080 of four point swings in this game, but this was 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:11.560 a seven point swing, and to me, this was a 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:17.760 perfect example of how the replay system is not being 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:23.040 processed or adjudicated correctly in the sense that we saw 0:18:23.320 --> 0:18:26.520 on the field. The one side judge on the top 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:31.080 of the screen was saying Packers ball, it was a 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:35.240 stop short of the goal line. The guy, well Blakeman 0:18:35.400 --> 0:18:38.600 was next to him, was was was next the side. 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:41.120 The side judge on the lower side of your TV 0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:44.560 screen was signaling touchdown. Blakeman at the top of the 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:47.560 screen initially saw the one call and he actually signals 0:18:47.600 --> 0:18:50.240 first down the other way for the Packers, which is 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:53.120 what the referee is supposed to do. Then suddenly, with 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:56.159