Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, sitting alongside my
Speaker 1: partner in crime, Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here
Speaker 1: from our studio at lambeau Field and West. About as
Speaker 1: big a regular season game in week eleven as you
Speaker 1: might find here in the NFL. The NFC North leading
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers traveling to face the a f C
Speaker 1: South co leading Indianapolis Colts, although I guess they would
Speaker 1: technically be in first place because they have the head
Speaker 1: to head over Tennessee at the moment, so we can
Speaker 1: call them a division leader as well. Seven and two
Speaker 1: verses six and three are the records, and hey, let's
Speaker 1: get right into it. What is it going to take
Speaker 1: for the Packers to come out victorious here? What are
Speaker 1: the keys to victory? I didn't even realize this, Mike.
Speaker 1: Tennessee would be out of the playoffs right now if
Speaker 1: the playoffs started kids six and three record, Yeah, So
Speaker 1: keep that in mind. For the Indianapolis Colts, there's a
Speaker 1: lot for them to play for right now in a
Speaker 1: very top heavy a f C conference right now. As
Speaker 1: you mentioned in terms of Not only is it a
Speaker 1: huge matchup. Obviously it got flex the three Central time,
Speaker 1: but it's the stakes. And I know a lot of
Speaker 1: guys in their conference calls and even the coaches they
Speaker 1: kind of played this down as far as being a
Speaker 1: measuring stick game. But I thought there was one comment
Speaker 1: that Frank Reich made in his conference call with Green
Speaker 1: Bay reporters that really spoke to the you know, the
Speaker 1: gravity of this thing and how much is on the line,
Speaker 1: and he said, this is the biggest test to date
Speaker 1: for our defense. So much of the focus all week
Speaker 1: long has been on the Packers offense going up against
Speaker 1: the top rank defense. But you also got to look
Speaker 1: at it from the Colts perspective. They're seeing Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 1: who they're guaranteed a match up with it once every
Speaker 1: four years at a critical juncture in their season. Because
Speaker 1: this is a Colts team that, while they are six
Speaker 1: and three, hasn't been on like a big five game
Speaker 1: winning streak. At any point. They've lost, they've won, a couple,
Speaker 1: they've lost. So this is their opportunity, coming off a
Speaker 1: big moral victory in Nashville, to to put down the
Speaker 1: Titans a little bit, to to potentially try to leap
Speaker 1: frog and push themselves into the final quarter of the season. Well,
Speaker 1: it was interesting because a lot of questions suddenly were
Speaker 1: raised about the Colts when they got beat by the
Speaker 1: Baltimore Ravens a couple of weeks ago. Now, there's no
Speaker 1: shame in losing to the Ravens, but the Colts were
Speaker 1: kind of sloppy and doing it that. You know, Rivers
Speaker 1: had an interception I think that got run back, and
Speaker 1: Jonathan Taylor had a fumble that got run back. It
Speaker 1: was for for a big game. It was not a
Speaker 1: good performance for the Indianapolis Colts. So there were all
Speaker 1: kinds of questions. And then it's like, oh, they're on
Speaker 1: a short week and they got to play Tennessee on
Speaker 1: the road on a Thursday night. What happens, Well, you know,
Speaker 1: both those teams kind of slug it out for the
Speaker 1: first half, and then in the second half that Colts
Speaker 1: defense shut him out. Right, He shut out the Titans
Speaker 1: in the second half to come away with a huge
Speaker 1: row victory in the a f C South. And now
Speaker 1: they've had their mini buy a little bit of extra
Speaker 1: rest and whatnot, and now they're back home to face
Speaker 1: the Packers in a big a f C versus NFC showdown,
Speaker 1: and you know, the marquee matchup, as I wrote about
Speaker 1: on our website, is the Packers offense against the Colts defense,
Speaker 1: and I think it is the biggest test of the
Speaker 1: season for both units to this point. From the Packers perspective,
Speaker 1: I feel like I say this, so I don't want
Speaker 1: to sound like a broken record, but I feel like
Speaker 1: I say this anytime the Packers are going up against
Speaker 1: a really formidable, highly ranked defense. In terms of the
Speaker 1: key to the game, quite frankly, it's you just you
Speaker 1: have to play clean football. You have to avoid the
Speaker 1: penalties and avoid the negative plays, whether they be sacks
Speaker 1: or TFLs. The things that are gonna put you behind
Speaker 1: the sticks, put you in the bad down and distance situations,
Speaker 1: which is when when and where good defenses thrive on
Speaker 1: getting after the quarterback, on creating turnovers. You have to
Speaker 1: stay out of those situations. Now, from the Packers perspective,
Speaker 1: they were in third and three a whole bunch last
Speaker 1: week against Jacksonville and weren't very efficient in in converting
Speaker 1: those So you have to get yourself into those situations
Speaker 1: first of all, which is a big challenge against the Colts.
Speaker 1: But then the Packers also have to get more efficient
Speaker 1: at moving the chains compared to what they did a
Speaker 1: week ago. Without a doubt. It's actually kind of interesting.
Speaker 1: We were talking with Adam Stenovitch, the Packers offensive line coach,
Speaker 1: on Wednesday evening, and he mentioned too he thinks one
Speaker 1: thing that can really help him in those situations moving
Speaker 1: forward is the fact that the offensive line finally is
Speaker 1: as healthy as it's going to be. The line I've
Speaker 1: kept writing this week is this is the first time
Speaker 1: in the two thousand twenty season where the projected started
Speaker 1: five on the dope sheet on Tuesday are actually all
Speaker 1: together on Sunday as they get some of that cohesiveness.
Speaker 1: If you get Alan Lazard back in this lineup, that's
Speaker 1: where you open things up a little bit more, because
Speaker 1: you know, let's be honest, whether it is the Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers sneak that everyone has been talking about this week,
Speaker 1: or a power run or just some of these other things,
Speaker 1: you have to be able to find those yards. Because
Speaker 1: early in this season, when the Packers got off to
Speaker 1: the start they did offensively, what was the one thing
Speaker 1: they were doing really consistently converting on third downs. It
Speaker 1: didn't matter if it was third and two or even
Speaker 1: third and ten. In some instances, they were having guys
Speaker 1: step up and keep moving the sticks. That's where they
Speaker 1: got to get back to. It was the reason why
Speaker 1: they fell short. And you saw that eight game streak
Speaker 1: of you know, being able to score on the opening
Speaker 1: possession fall against the Jaguars, And to be honest, I
Speaker 1: think that's probably okay that it finally did that, that
Speaker 1: you can move past that stat Now you want to
Speaker 1: score every single drive, but it's not always going to
Speaker 1: work out that way for you. But the bigger thing
Speaker 1: is is avoiding the three and outs, making sure that
Speaker 1: you can control field position, because when the Packers got
Speaker 1: off to the start they did this season, that's the
Speaker 1: thing that they were really excelling in. Yeah, and if
Speaker 1: it's always easier said than done, of course, but I
Speaker 1: think the thing that I'll be watching for in this
Speaker 1: game is in the first quarter if the Packers can
Speaker 1: establish some kind of a rhythm offensively, because and that
Speaker 1: doesn't necessarily mean they have to score two touchdowns in
Speaker 1: the first quarter and score four teen points, but have
Speaker 1: some kind of a rhythm offensively, because if you look
Speaker 1: back to the Tampa Bay game, which was the best
Speaker 1: defense the Packers have faced up until now. Even though
Speaker 1: the Packers and we had talked about this. They scored
Speaker 1: on their first two drives in that game, got a
Speaker 1: touchdown in the field goal, had ten points, but there
Speaker 1: was a lot of off schedule stuff. There was no
Speaker 1: rhythm to the offense, and so without really establishing any
Speaker 1: kind of a rhythm anything to hang your hat on
Speaker 1: early in that game, it just completely fell apart for
Speaker 1: Green Bay over over the final three quarters. So you
Speaker 1: have to watch for this because if if Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: is going to be forced to to improv and go
Speaker 1: off schedule and everything all day long because there isn't
Speaker 1: any rhythm developing to the offense, that's going to be
Speaker 1: a bad You can get away with that against a
Speaker 1: lesser defense, you're not going to get away with that
Speaker 1: for four quarters against a really good defense. Because that's
Speaker 1: what the Packers found out against the Buccaneer. And and
Speaker 1: it's funny too, because as much as this will be
Speaker 1: made out of Aaron Rodgers versus the top ranked defense,
Speaker 1: my key to victory and we'll talk about this even
Speaker 1: in more in depth during final thoughts is who wins
Speaker 1: on the ground. You have a Packers rushing offense that,
Speaker 1: while it does have Aaron Jones back now Jamal Williams
Speaker 1: has obviously been a staple this season. They're going up
Speaker 1: against a unit that doesn't give up big games. You
Speaker 1: have to chip away at them. You look at that
Speaker 1: game for Tennessee. They did give up a hundred fifty
Speaker 1: seven rushing yards, but there wasn't a carry of more
Speaker 1: than twenty yards there. It was just Derrick Henry just come,
Speaker 1: you know, play after play banging at them. And unfortunately
Speaker 1: for the Titans, they didn't get the offensive passing production
Speaker 1: that they needed to be able to compliment that and
Speaker 1: finish drives Green Bay's perspective though, then you're looking over
Speaker 1: across the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of
Speaker 1: the ball to a Colts rushing game that still really
Speaker 1: doesn't have an identity. Marlon Mack goes down with the
Speaker 1: a c L. At the beginning of last season, there
Speaker 1: reigning thousand yard rusher. They drafted Jonathan Taylor, but Jonathan
Speaker 1: Taylor was the third most used running back in that
Speaker 1: game against Tennessee. You know they have high and stepping
Speaker 1: up he's proving that he's more than a third down back.
Speaker 1: And then obviously, um, what is it Wilson? Is there
Speaker 1: other guy? He's on my fantasy team. Wilkins, I apologize,
Speaker 1: is another option there too. But I think when they
Speaker 1: drafted Jonathan Taylor, everybody expected him to be the face
Speaker 1: of this thing. He has the body for it, he
Speaker 1: has the you know, pass catching abilities. But Green Bay's perspective,
Speaker 1: you can't allow them to get going with that running game.
Speaker 1: You have to make this about Philip Rivers. You have
Speaker 1: to pressure him. So seeing which team prevails in that capacity,
Speaker 1: I think it's going to go a long way at
Speaker 1: which team leaves Lucas Oil with a victory. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: talking about the Packers defense here you mentioned it with
Speaker 1: with getting pressure on Philip Rivers and whatnot. You look
Speaker 1: at the statistics this year. He hasn't been sacked a
Speaker 1: whole lot. They have a really good offensive line. He
Speaker 1: gets the ball out of his hands quickly. Philip Rivers
Speaker 1: is going to take whatever shallow short route is there
Speaker 1: if you know, once any pressure is coming at him,
Speaker 1: which is why I think one of the biggest keys,
Speaker 1: if not the biggest thing for the package defensive tackle.
Speaker 1: You can't let these guys, I mean, you can't let
Speaker 1: them take four and five yard passes and get ten
Speaker 1: and twelve yard gains out of it because of miss tackles.
Speaker 1: The Packers have to be on point with their tackling
Speaker 1: in this game in Lucas Oil Stadium, because you're not
Speaker 1: going to sack Philip Rivers five or six times. It's
Speaker 1: just here. It's it's not going to happen. And I
Speaker 1: do think the Packers run defenses. I talked about it
Speaker 1: on our last show. They took a step forward in
Speaker 1: the second half against Jacksonville. You need to build on
Speaker 1: that and take that into Indianapolis. But they're going to
Speaker 1: see they're going to see the swing passes to the flat,
Speaker 1: the screen passes, the shallow crosses, a lot of the
Speaker 1: same kind of stuff that that the Packers run offensively
Speaker 1: as well. The Packers defense needs to tackle well in
Speaker 1: this game. And if it's a five yard pass, it
Speaker 1: can't be more than a five or six yard game
Speaker 1: or it's gonna end up just being a really, really
Speaker 1: frustrating day trying to get these guys into into tough
Speaker 1: third down situation. Yeah, and and that's why you could,
Speaker 1: you could see the Smith Bros. You could see Rashawn Gary,
Speaker 1: all have really all of games and maybe it's not
Speaker 1: reflected on a statuet because of how quickly Philip Rivers
Speaker 1: gets the ball up. But you go back to that
Speaker 1: game against the Chargers last year, where did Green Bay
Speaker 1: get beaten? It was beaten on yards after catch. It
Speaker 1: was played that they ended up creating and they weren't
Speaker 1: able to find an answer for it. So that's why
Speaker 1: for me, I really look at Kenny Clark the pressure
Speaker 1: from inside. I retweeted uh Larry mccarren's wonderful Rock Report
Speaker 1: yesterday looking at that final series against the Jaguars and
Speaker 1: why they were so successful. It was Kenny Clark sniffing
Speaker 1: out the screen on first down. It was him taking
Speaker 1: on double teams, push that pocket, not allow Philip Rivers
Speaker 1: that extra time to throw step into his throws. That's
Speaker 1: gonna be critical. And also linebacker playing this game. I
Speaker 1: don't know who's gonna be starting an inside linebacker for
Speaker 1: the Packers. It's just been some sort of this moving
Speaker 1: target with injuries and in COVID and whatnot. But they
Speaker 1: are going to throw a lot to their running backs.
Speaker 1: It's just the way that this offensive structure, t Y
Speaker 1: Hilton hasn't been the t Y Hilton that we all
Speaker 1: remember from a few years ago. It's been a lot
Speaker 1: of making yards with your backs. They can allow Hines
Speaker 1: and Taylor and these guys to be able to do that. Yeah. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: One other thing I want to bring up as a
Speaker 1: as a potential key to this game because I looked
Speaker 1: up the stat and I hadn't looked it up until
Speaker 1: last night, actually, But here's another one. West This game
Speaker 1: could be one or lost in the red zone. And
Speaker 1: I say that for this simple reason. Offensively, the Packers
Speaker 1: are fourth in the league in red zone offense seventy
Speaker 1: three point five percent touchdowns. The Indianapolis Colts are twenty
Speaker 1: five in the league offensively in red zone offense only
Speaker 1: fifty five point nine percent touchdowns. Now, without getting into
Speaker 1: all kinds of math, what I mean is this could
Speaker 1: come down to Harvard many red zone possessions each each
Speaker 1: team gets if the Packers, if the Packers win in
Speaker 1: the red zone on one more possession, that could be
Speaker 1: the four points seven verses three, The four points that
Speaker 1: could be the difference in a close game like this Defensively,
Speaker 1: neither of these teams has been great in the red zone. Statistically,
Speaker 1: the Colts are nineteenth the Packers are but offensively there
Speaker 1: is a big difference in the efficiency in the red zone.
Speaker 1: I think that could end up playing a big factor
Speaker 1: in this game, especially if you if you get you know,
Speaker 1: into these scoring situations in the fourth quarter. Well, and
Speaker 1: especially if Jack Doyle still isn't able to go with
Speaker 1: the concussion that he's been dealing with. He's been obviously
Speaker 1: one of the most reliable offensive skill position players for
Speaker 1: a number of years now with the Colts that that's
Speaker 1: a big one for them. Although Pascal has had some touchdowns,
Speaker 1: I think Hines actually has four this year too, so,
Speaker 1: I mean they've been able to find it, but they
Speaker 1: haven't had that big like standout that has sort of
Speaker 1: come to the foreground in those situations. That's one area
Speaker 1: where Green Bay really has thrived. Davante Adams is just
Speaker 1: a magnet to the ball, especially in the red area
Speaker 1: or the gold area I guess as they call it
Speaker 1: here in Green Bay. Uh. You know, if if again,
Speaker 1: if Alan Lazart is in this game, that changes everything
Speaker 1: for the Packers, not only just from the standpoint of
Speaker 1: having a reliable possession receiver as your number two. Again,
Speaker 1: but just from the standpoint that he's a run blocker,
Speaker 1: he can you know, he fits well with some of
Speaker 1: the Bunch formations that Matt Lafleur likes to run. All
Speaker 1: those type of things has helped the Packers out and
Speaker 1: again is the Packers hope to improve defensively in that area. Offensively,
Speaker 1: they've been pretty much on par all season with being
Speaker 1: able to finish drives along with a little bit of
Speaker 1: aggressiveness too when it gets down to those fourth down situations.
Speaker 1: All right, one other thing I want to get to
Speaker 1: with regard to this matchup before we talk about some
Speaker 1: other games around the NFL this week. But first serious
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Speaker 1: All Right, the other thing we have to talk about
Speaker 1: with regard to this game West as special teams, this
Speaker 1: is a Colts team. They are coming off of that
Speaker 1: third in that Thursday night victory over Tennessee we've been
Speaker 1: talking about, they blocked a punt for a touchdown. Was
Speaker 1: a huge moment in that game. Earlier this season, the
Speaker 1: Colts ran a kickoff back for a to down. We
Speaker 1: have a Packer special teams unit that is coming off
Speaker 1: of a rough game feel position wise, the Packers lost
Speaker 1: that battle and then obviously they had the big breakdown
Speaker 1: on the long punt return for a touchdown. Special teams
Speaker 1: could play a big factor in this game. This is
Speaker 1: this is one where the Packers. The Packers cannot allow
Speaker 1: themselves to get beat on special teams the way they
Speaker 1: were last week, or it's going to be really, really
Speaker 1: hard to come out on top. Well, and it's funny too,
Speaker 1: because you go back and think about the draft process,
Speaker 1: and I always joke around with you with Alvin Kamara
Speaker 1: right back and all that. Well, one of the guys
Speaker 1: that I sort of took a liking to was Isaiah Rodgers,
Speaker 1: the the U mass receiver who has become their their
Speaker 1: kickoff return specialist, the guy that was responsible for that
Speaker 1: that touchdown return. I believe it was a hundred and
Speaker 1: one yards or it was it was the length of
Speaker 1: the field for sure. And again you go back to
Speaker 1: four years ago, the Packers have bad memories, some of
Speaker 1: these still in that game at lambou Field the last
Speaker 1: time I think there was a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Speaker 1: So it's a it's a huge emphasis this week. You
Speaker 1: gotta imagine in certainly it's going to be in all
Speaker 1: facets of the game. The one thing that I think
Speaker 1: does play into their favor this is actually in a dome.
Speaker 1: There's been so many wild, wacky things that have happened
Speaker 1: at lambeau Field with the wind in the in all
Speaker 1: these different areas. You go back to that game against
Speaker 1: the Vikings. That's still the one of the more bizarre
Speaker 1: games I've ever covered, especially when guys were kicking to
Speaker 1: that south end zone this particular game. I just think
Speaker 1: if if J. K. Scott can get back into his rhythm,
Speaker 1: we've all seen the leg if he can get some
Speaker 1: confidence there, that would be huge for him. Mason Crosby
Speaker 1: continues to get a little healthier after dealing with the
Speaker 1: calf injuring whatnot if he can at some point retake
Speaker 1: over the kickoff. Uh, you know, duties. He's obviously been
Speaker 1: exceptional at that for fifteen years now. So that's where
Speaker 1: it starts for me. Where the ball is into guys
Speaker 1: getting down and converging on it. And as the Packers
Speaker 1: get healthy in these other areas, Mike, whether it be
Speaker 1: offense or defense, that gives you more assets, that gives
Speaker 1: you less fewer practice squad players that are coming up
Speaker 1: and having to play coverage roles. You need your OAR
Speaker 1: and berks Is. Unfortunately they lost John Lovett, who had
Speaker 1: been a really solid special teams player for him to
Speaker 1: this point. Will Redmond has been dealing with injuries. So
Speaker 1: as they get healthier and you get some of those
Speaker 1: vets back on those units, I just think that that's
Speaker 1: going to be really critical here for the Packers down
Speaker 1: the stretch and the phase that is often forgotten. Yeah. Absolutely, Well,
Speaker 1: it's an interesting week eleven in the NFL. I want
Speaker 1: to get your thoughts on a few games. First, a
Speaker 1: couple of a f C games, because we don't always
Speaker 1: talk about the a f C, but there are a
Speaker 1: couple of interesting matchups here. On Sunday, Tennessee is at Baltimore.
Speaker 1: In Kansas City is at Las Vegas. Now, obviously, as
Speaker 1: we've talked about Tennessee in Baltimore, but the lad they've
Speaker 1: played the Colts here in in recent weeks, Tennessee trying
Speaker 1: to bounce back from that loss. And then with regard
Speaker 1: to the Chiefs, the Raiders is the only team to
Speaker 1: beat the Chiefs this year. But now the Raiders are
Speaker 1: going into the rematch with pretty much their entire starting
Speaker 1: defense on the COVID list because of high risk close contact,
Speaker 1: you know, and all all of those issues. They're hoping
Speaker 1: that everybody gets clear on Saturday and they can play.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure how you go out and take the
Speaker 1: field against Patrick Mahomes when you haven't practiced defensively all week.
Speaker 1: I think that becomes a huge challenge. But anyway, your
Speaker 1: thoughts on those two big games in the a f
Speaker 1: C here well, and and let's just you know, starting
Speaker 1: off with with this Kansas City situation. I mean it,
Speaker 1: it is one of these deals where you know, earlier
Speaker 1: this season, you know, so much was made out of
Speaker 1: Tennessee and that they were going to be on a
Speaker 1: short week and they didn't have enough guys because of
Speaker 1: the COVID issue and their outbreak or whatnot, and they
Speaker 1: end up winning a game. So you never can really
Speaker 1: count a team out in these circumstances, but certainly Kansas
Speaker 1: City's the that's the boss at the end of the
Speaker 1: video game. I mean, you're trying to to be able to,
Speaker 1: you know, topple one of the best and one of
Speaker 1: the most you know, versatile and deep teams in the
Speaker 1: National Football League and doing its shorthand it it's gonna
Speaker 1: be really difficult. But but again these way that these
Speaker 1: situations break down. The race in the a f C
Speaker 1: is so tight right now, we talked about the NFC
Speaker 1: and the Packers. Right now at the season ended there
Speaker 1: the number one seed. No team has really just kind
Speaker 1: of grabbed it and just with it. Everybody's had their
Speaker 1: lay ups. And then in the a f C, it's
Speaker 1: pretty well defined who the top four teams are and
Speaker 1: they all have you know, six, seven, eight, nine wins
Speaker 1: to prove it. So seeing how these teams respond to
Speaker 1: it's going to be interesting. And then also Baltimore, which
Speaker 1: is had to do some soul searching itself this season,
Speaker 1: trying to replicate some of the offensive successes they've had
Speaker 1: in the past in different ways, and they're they're coming
Speaker 1: off of a primetime loss to the Patriots, a game
Speaker 1: that that a lot of people really didn't think they
Speaker 1: they were going to or should have lost, but but
Speaker 1: they did. And don't ask me why, but for whatever reason,
Speaker 1: it just always seems to work out this way. I'm
Speaker 1: sure Tennessee in Indianapolis it's going to go right back
Speaker 1: down to week seventeen again in that couple flex like
Speaker 1: it has like three in the last four years. It's
Speaker 1: just the way it keeps working on. Yeah. Well, in
Speaker 1: the NFC, a couple of really interesting primetime games, beginning
Speaker 1: with one tonight as we are taping this episode. On
Speaker 1: Thursday morning, Arizona is at Seattle. Big matchup, should be
Speaker 1: a really entertaining one. First time they met the sheer
Speaker 1: out um out in Arizona. The game went to overtime,
Speaker 1: really back and forth, exciting game. Probably another one of those,
Speaker 1: uh those types to expect, especially with Arizona coming off
Speaker 1: of the big Hail Mary victory over Buffalo. What do
Speaker 1: you think about this? NFC West showed, Yeah, and Cliff
Speaker 1: Kingsbury's offense and Kyler Murray against that Seattle defense that's
Speaker 1: been up and down this season. It is a century link.
Speaker 1: So the Seattle has that going for them, although it
Speaker 1: hasn't been quite as friendly it has been historically. I
Speaker 1: think it's a great matchup. And also seeing how Russell
Speaker 1: Wilson responds here. He's encountered some adversity. He's had some
Speaker 1: turnovers this season, a guy that's typically been pretty uh
Speaker 1: secure with the football. Uh Like every week at the
Speaker 1: NFC West is a dog fight. I mean, it just is.
Speaker 1: I mean it's just the way these things are working out.
Speaker 1: San Francisco has been beat up. You wonder if they
Speaker 1: were a little bit healthier, what that four team race
Speaker 1: would have looked like. But you know, from the very
Speaker 1: beginning Arizona, we always talk about DeAndre Hopkins, and certainly
Speaker 1: he made arguably the best catch, most beautiful catch we've
Speaker 1: seen in the NFL in years, given the coverage. But
Speaker 1: they can win with so many different players, and they're
Speaker 1: running game two is really underrated for everyone always talking
Speaker 1: about the air raid offense with Kingsbury. They're running game
Speaker 1: right now with you know, with Drake and what they've
Speaker 1: accomplished in that area. It's been impressive and it's going
Speaker 1: to really stress Seattle here. I expect the high scoring affair. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And the other big one as far as the NFC
Speaker 1: playoff picture is concerned, will be Monday night the Los
Speaker 1: Angeles Rams on the road at Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers
Speaker 1: really interesting team because a couple of weeks ago they
Speaker 1: get thumped in prime time by the New Orleans Saints.
Speaker 1: But then they come back last week despite a seven
Speaker 1: hour flight delay and trying to get from Tampa to
Speaker 1: Charlotte to play the Panthers. Then they go out and
Speaker 1: put forty six points on the board, including I think
Speaker 1: it was a nineties seven yard touchdown run by Thomas Jones.
Speaker 1: They put forty six points on the board, and uh,
Speaker 1: and you know, have a thumping of their own against
Speaker 1: a division rival in Carolina. The Rams coming off of
Speaker 1: a big NFC West win against Seattle, now going on
Speaker 1: the road to Tampa in prime time and taking what
Speaker 1: I think is is a really really good defense that
Speaker 1: isn't being talked about enough, um because everybody always talks
Speaker 1: about Aaron Donald. But Aaron Donald's got they've got a
Speaker 1: defense around him as well, and it'll be interesting to
Speaker 1: see that defense against Tom Brady on Monday night. Well,
Speaker 1: and as I just said to Mike I mean, when
Speaker 1: you talk about Kenny Clark and with Philip Rivers and
Speaker 1: collapsing a pocket, what's the ultimate way to be able
Speaker 1: to get Tom Brady off his spot. It's a the
Speaker 1: most powerful nose tackle in the National Football League. So
Speaker 1: it's Tampa Bay, especially with how banged up they've been
Speaker 1: on the interior line, that's gonna be a huge challenge
Speaker 1: for them. But also seeing exactly what this Buccaneers team
Speaker 1: is all about, because as you said, and it's one
Speaker 1: of the reasons why I keep saying over and over
Speaker 1: and over again an insider inbox, you can't read too
Speaker 1: much into one game because one week Tampa Bay looks
Speaker 1: like a Super Bowl front runner. The next week they
Speaker 1: take a massive step back. The week after that. Everybody
Speaker 1: expects them to just play put trid after everything they
Speaker 1: encountered the day before the game, and they come out
Speaker 1: and they put on a show. So it's gonna be
Speaker 1: a good battle. And then you know the Green Bay
Speaker 1: Packers perspective, with both of the with this game and
Speaker 1: also with the one in Seattle, there really is no loser.
Speaker 1: I mean, as long as those teams continue to beat
Speaker 1: up on each other, right, it works. The Green based benefits. Yeah,
Speaker 1: from the Packers perspective, these four NFC teams were talking
Speaker 1: about they're all in the NFC playoff picture, and the
Speaker 1: good news for Green Bay is only two of them
Speaker 1: can win this, right to you know, two wins and
Speaker 1: two losses that you'll take that any week when when
Speaker 1: you're in you know, this mix and trying to sort
Speaker 1: things out as you get towards December. Yeah, and and
Speaker 1: even to throw this game out there too. I know
Speaker 1: he didn't bring it up right away, but New Orleans
Speaker 1: is going to be taking on in Atlanta Falcons. Football
Speaker 1: Time actually did have that one written down, but I
Speaker 1: glossed over it. Yes, with with the situation with Drew
Speaker 1: Brees and then and uh and the Falcons looking looking
Speaker 1: like a different team than than they looked early in
Speaker 1: the season with all the controversy around their head coach.
Speaker 1: Atlanta has settled things down and now they're going to
Speaker 1: face a division arrival that's going to be without its
Speaker 1: best player. And you could probably say this for any quarterback,
Speaker 1: and he stud quarterback in the National Football League. So
Speaker 1: I I don't want to be too over the top
Speaker 1: about this, but in all my years, I don't know
Speaker 1: if I've seen a team that goes as much with
Speaker 1: its quarterback as the Falcons go with Matt Ryan. When
Speaker 1: he's on, that offense is on, that defense is on,
Speaker 1: everything seems to fit. And when he's not, then things
Speaker 1: crumble a little bit. Matt Ryan has gotten hot here.
Speaker 1: I mean he's playing better football, the offense is operating better,
Speaker 1: and they're gonna go up against the New Orleans Saints team,
Speaker 1: who we at this point don't know who's going to
Speaker 1: get the most snaps as the quarterback. I mean, they
Speaker 1: say it's gonna be Jamis Winston, but are you going
Speaker 1: to give Taysom Hill the opportunity everybody seems that he's
Speaker 1: preordained for. Yeah, a lot of questions. Yeah, definitely a
Speaker 1: lot of stuff to keep an eye on on Sunday,
Speaker 1: aside from obviously a big matchup in Indianapolis with the Packers.
Speaker 1: But with that we'll call it a wrap on this
Speaker 1: edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of
Speaker 1: our coverage of the team and all the coverage of
Speaker 1: the big game Sunday from Indie. It's all on Packers
Speaker 1: dot com for wes I Am Mike. Thank you for
Speaker 1: tuning in everybody. We'll see you next time. M