WEBVTT - #472 Packers Unscripted: Tight at the top 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:19.400 Hi everyone. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:22.200 I am Mike Spofford. He is the one and only 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:24.680 West Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here from our studios 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:27.760 at lambeau Field and West. The bye week is here 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:31.240 for the Green Bay Packers. It is Week eleven. Quick 0:00:31.280 --> 0:00:34.920 programming note, this will actually be our final unscripted show 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:37.760 for this week. Wes and I. We still have some 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:39.360 work to do, but we're going to try to do 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:41.279 it out of the office and not have to come 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:47.040 into the office. You're going to Barbados. What are you talking? Yeah, sure, yeah, right, um. 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:49.680 But anyway, we will be back after this show. We 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:54.760 will be back next Monday with resuming our usual five 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:57.960 shows a week leading up to that all important Packers 0:00:58.040 --> 0:01:00.960 road trip to San Francisco. But right now it is 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:02.840 the bye week. The players are off for the rest 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:07.080 of the week. The Packers coaching staffs, interestingly, Matt Lafleur 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:11.200 talked on Monday about how their bye week project is 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:15.840 essentially too game plan for the other guys. The offensive 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:18.760 coaches are going to look at the defensive film like 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:21.480 they're going to put together a plan to try to 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:24.120 beat them and the defensive coaches are going to do 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:26.400 the same thing, looking at the Packers offensive film, a 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:29.920 form of self scouting to try to get to the 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:32.920 bottom of some of these things are what opponents are 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.280 looking at in terms of where some weaknesses are, some 0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:39.040 things that the coaches want to shore up when they 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:40.800 get the players back from the break. Yeah, it can 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:42.960 be very illuminating to do that kind of stuff. You know. 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:45.760 Mike McCarthy always called it across the hall meetings that 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:48.040 they would do with their self ressessment, self reviews. So 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:50.600 I would imagine and I was anticipating that they were 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:52.240 going to do something like that with Matt Lafleur and 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:55.600 Mike Petton. Why it's so interesting with these two particular 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:59.200 sides though, Is it even just because of Okay, how 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:02.000 the game film has gone. It's because they've been practicing 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:05.120 against each other going back to May, so seeing where 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:07.920 those teams and offenses that have evolved, who's picked up 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:11.640 certain concepts better than others. Where things are now five 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:14.560 six months after the installation period. I always find this 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:17.200 to be a very fascinating time to be able to 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:18.760 go back and a lot of times when they come 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.119 out of the break, you see some adjustments. They don't 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:23.400 always have to be Clay Matthews moving to inside lineback 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:25.760 or something that is drastic as that, but you do 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:29.880 see subtle changes, sudden personnel that are emphasized, different concepts 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:32.720 that are maybe emphasized or de emphasized. So it's an 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:36.160 important time to be able to obviously rest the mind. 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:38.120 You know, you don't want to push yourself too hard because, 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:40.679 as Jamal Williams said in the locker room on Monday, 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:43.400 they're planning to play through February here, so this is 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:46.280 like the last little rest bit before you get into 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:48.799 that big run. But at the same time also being 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:51.080 cognizant of where you are and what you're doing. So 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:53.160 when the players come back into the building on Monday, 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:55.120 you put forth a plan that's not only going to 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:57.320 get you through these next six weeks, but could really 0:02:57.360 --> 0:03:01.760 potentially propel you into a postseason. Yeah. I guess one advantage, 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:03.960 if there is an advantage to having a bye week 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:06.040 this late in the season, is when it comes to 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:08.760 this sort of self scouting process. There's a lot of 0:03:08.760 --> 0:03:12.200 film in the vault. You've got ten games in uh, 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:15.240 you know, in the film room to go over as 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:17.680 opposed to maybe having only four or five if you 0:03:17.720 --> 0:03:20.880 have the bye week earlier in the season. So um, 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:24.040 it'll be interesting to see if there are any adjustments. 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:26.280 I'm guessing there will be some adjustments, but they won't 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:29.200 necessarily be noticeable to us in terms of what the 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:33.480 Packers might be doing schematically um as they go forward. 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:37.680 But before we get any further though, West, We've got 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:40.080 to talk about this Monday night football game, and if 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:42.600 it's funny, I want to use this to pivot into 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:45.280 this because I was watching parts of that game last night, 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:47.880 and as we talked about on yesterday's show, San Francisco 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:50.320 had a Week four by if there was ever a 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:53.240 better example of Okay, if you could get eight week 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:55.720 or eight or nine, that's perfect, But why you would 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:57.800 rather have it in week e eleven rather than Week 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:00.560 four is exactly what I think I saw in that 0:04:00.600 --> 0:04:04.200 San Francisco game. A lot of things went wrong for them, 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:06.400 but the thing that kept popping up into my mind 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:10.280 is how different is this game if George Kittles available? Obviously? 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:12.880 How different is this game if Robbie gold is available, 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:15.120 even though he's obviously had some issues at times this 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:18.360 year And Emmanuel Sanders. Emmanuel Sanders goes down with the rib. 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:21.200 They're obviously missing Kyle used check at that point. It's 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:23.839 just there are so many things kind of pulling against 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:26.839 the forty Niners and the thing that they're gonna have 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:28.960 to go through, like I talked about it on yesterday's show, now, 0:04:29.040 --> 0:04:31.080 is you lose this game to Seattle, You're gonna have 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:35.360 to see him again at their place. You go against Arizona. 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:38.800 Now next week we can play with anybody, and then 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:43.040 the Packers Baltimore, New Orleans. But at the end of 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:44.560 the day, you have to win the ball game. In 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:47.640 the San Francisco forty Niners and Seattle, for the most part, 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:51.320 neither one wanted to grab that brass ring, and eventually 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:53.680 it turned up to be Seattle's game. Well that was 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:57.280 It was just a crazy game. I mean, it has 0:04:57.320 --> 0:04:59.960 to go down as of right now as the game 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:02.320 of the year in the NFL so far. Monday night, 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:06.479 those two teams, just the turnovers, the defensive touchdowns, the 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:09.960 swings and momentum going to overtime, going all the way 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:12.560 to the end of overtime, the missed field goal when 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:15.200 the forty Niners had a chance to win. Before that, 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.280 the Seahawks look like they're going to win, and Russell 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:22.320 Wilson throws an interception. I mean, um, the back and 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:26.720 forth in the game was wildly entertaining. But the bottom 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:30.200 line is now, this is this is where things sit 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:33.160 with us in the NFC. San Francisco's eight and one, 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:36.560 The Packers and the Seahawks are eight and two, The 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.719 Saints are seven and two, and the Vikings are seven 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:44.240 and three. That's loaded, my friend, I mean, and honestly, 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:47.279 I will say this flat out. I can see any 0:05:47.320 --> 0:05:50.799 one of those five teams getting the number one seed 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:53.480 in the NFC at this point with six games for 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:56.360 some seven, whatever the situation is, I can see any 0:05:56.360 --> 0:05:58.320 one of those five teams getting the number one seed. 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:02.039 And here's the really interesting part of those five teams 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:06.000 I just rattled off. There are still five games left 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:10.359 this season that involve two of those five teams playing 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:13.440 each other. The Packers play the forty Niners and the Vikings. 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:18.480 The Vikings play the Seahawks, and you, as you already mentioned, 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:21.800 San Francisco also has to play the Saints and the Seahawks. 0:06:22.160 --> 0:06:24.919 And that's not even including games that are on the 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:27.800 schedule for some of these teams that include Carolina who's 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:30.839 still in the mix, that include either Philadelphia or Dallas 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:33.680 who's still in the mix. And you mentioned San Francisco 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:38.719 has to play Baltimore and a cross conference game. This is, uh, 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:40.919 this is really something the way the way this is 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:44.720 shaping up. This this one result with San Francisco not 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:47.279 getting to nine and oh and taking that first loss, 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:49.039 and as you say, they're bye week as well in 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:51.160 the past, and they've got injuries to deal with here 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:53.880 as as this gauntlet of a schedule comes up, this 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:57.000 thing is wide open for the top seeds in the NFC. Yeah, 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.279 and just first off, to be my own own budsman here, 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:02.120 I was in correct. Kyle us Check has since returned, 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:04.480 but they still were dealing with a lot of injuries 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:06.839 in this ball game, and Kindles such a big important 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:11.520 part of that offense. He was watching the luxury box 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:13.840 or whatever. He wasn't even on it wasn't even able 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:17.640 to be on the sidelines with his teammates. So here's 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:20.200 what this does. I thought, you know, friend of the program, 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:22.920 Aaron Nageler, your one time co host on the show. 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:26.440 You know, he said after watching that game, you know, 0:07:26.880 --> 0:07:29.400 the Packers have a legitimate shot at a super Bowl here. 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:32.000 I think any of those five teams in the NFC 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:34.840 right now that are sitting at side too, can all 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:37.200 say that they have a legitimate shot. And it's not 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:39.160 only just because of the parody, even though it is 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:42.040 a slightly top heavy conference. It's because you look over 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:44.880 in the a f C and everybody's talking about all 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:47.280 the issues that the New England Patriots have and they're 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:50.040 sitting in the position that they are right now. Buffalo 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:53.760 just gets beat by Cleveland. That there are just there's 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:56.600 very few teams out there right now that are just 0:07:56.680 --> 0:07:59.480 world beaters that are just knocking everybody down that haven't 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:04.280 shown everybody has flaws. Everybody has shown flaws, and just 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:06.760 about every every one of those teams, I think I 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:09.000 could probably name him if he gave me enough time, 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:13.000 has played a true clunker of a game. Quite frankly. 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:16.200 I mean, for San Francisco, it really was last night's game. 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:19.680 The way they turn the ball over and the way 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:23.239 their defense could not get the stops to force field 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:27.040 goals because Um, with the short fields, Seattle was able 0:08:27.080 --> 0:08:31.080 to punch things in for touchdowns. Um the uh that 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:34.600 that was definitely San Francisco's worst performance of the season. 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:37.400 As you said, they're they're dealing with injuries, but they 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:39.760 don't get a break here and they've got a lot 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:43.080 to deal with. And the thing that Seattle did that 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:47.280 you are absolutely unequivalently going to have to do if 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:49.000 you're going to beat the forty niners, you have to 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:52.400 stop the run, and Seattle did that. They were not 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:54.959 able to get going because you know, the way Kyle 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:57.640 Shanahan wants to play with this particular group, They want 0:08:57.640 --> 0:09:00.160 to get their running backs thirty opportunities in a game, 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:02.959 whether it's most dirt, whether it's Coleman, whether it is 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:07.000 all these different you know permutations that they use. Yeah, 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.960 Brita in there as well, who couldn't get anything going 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:13.800 with his ten carries. So it is incredible to see 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:18.440 a plan get fulfilled. People will talk about the missed opportunities. 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:22.320 They'll talk about those last few minutes overtime. They'll talk about, 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:25.719 you know, a rookie, you know, I should say, off 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:28.040 the street free agent kicker having to come in make 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:31.240 a game tying field goal to go into overtime and 0:09:31.240 --> 0:09:34.400 then badly missing the one and overtime. But make no mistake, 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:38.000 Seattle put themselves in a position to win that game 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:41.079 against an undefeated opponent on the road. That's a credit 0:09:41.120 --> 0:09:44.680 to Russell Wilson. It's a credit to Carson too, man. 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:47.760 I mean his longest carry was nine yards, but just 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:52.080 continually kept grinding at it. And you know, between whether 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:54.320 it was jadeveon Conn, they're just they found ways to 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:57.440 win that football game. Yeah, it was after going down 0:09:57.480 --> 0:09:59.679 early to mind you yeah, oh yeah, they were they 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:01.760 were down, they were down, they had to come back. 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:04.200 It was it was a really it was just a 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:07.680 really really entertaining game, not in the same way that 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:10.120 you know, the game of the Year in the regular 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:12.880 season last year, that Chiefs Rams game with like a 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:15.040 hundred points on the board. That was entertaining in a 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:17.800 in a very different way, and a lot of people 0:10:17.800 --> 0:10:20.480 thought and that actually came close to being a Super 0:10:20.480 --> 0:10:23.480 Bowl preview last year, except then the Chiefs lost in 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:25.680 overtime in the a f C championship games, so that 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:30.360 rematch never happened. Um, neither this one total yards to 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:33.280 which is incredible, and they basically played an extra quarter. Yeah, 0:10:33.600 --> 0:10:36.680 it's it's a heck of a ball game. Yeah, this one. 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:39.760 We're going to see the rematch in week seventeen as 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:43.320 division rivals, and who knows that maybe meeting number two 0:10:43.320 --> 0:10:46.160 out of three between these teams, because there's a chance 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:49.080 that that that they could meet up in January as well. 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:52.160 And you talk about one of those teams is going 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:53.640 to be going in the playoffs. I don't care if 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:55.760 it's Seattle, I don't care if it's San Francisco. Again, 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:57.360 they have to get other They have to do their 0:10:57.360 --> 0:10:58.760 homework here. They have to be able to get to a 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:01.480 a position to be in clinching a spot to the 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:04.280 playoffs for that to have the full meeting. But whoever 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:06.840 wins that could very well have a first round by 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:08.800 could very well end up being the number one seed. 0:11:09.320 --> 0:11:13.280 Whoever loses it is going to have an absolute drag 0:11:13.400 --> 0:11:16.280 out kind of match up and then five, you know, 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:18.640 six days, seven days later, you're gonna have to come 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:22.080 out and play a wild card game right after that too. Uh. 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:25.720 That's that's where the stakes are really high in that conference. 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:27.480 But getting back to original point, because I think it 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:30.719 worth bears repeating here. For Green Bay, they took care 0:11:30.720 --> 0:11:33.280 of business to get to eight and two they needed 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:35.160 to win that game against Caroline, as you and I 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:37.559 were talking about last week, to put themselves in a 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:39.360 position to sit back this weekend and see how the 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:42.400 Chips fall. Could Arizona come out now, could they be 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:44.520 able to maybe get San Francisco on a bit of 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:47.720 a slide here testing them with that Cliff Kingsbury offense. 0:11:48.280 --> 0:11:50.360 But even more than that, the way the schedule lines 0:11:50.440 --> 0:11:53.000 up for green Bay, now you're gonna have to travel 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:54.920 to Washington, You're gonna have to travel to New York. 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:57.560 Two teams together, I think, have what three or four wins. 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:00.680 Those are games you have to win. Then you get 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:04.960 Chicago at home, You're gonna have a tough matchup against Minnesota, 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:06.600 and then you're gonna have to go back into Ford 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:11.400 Field against Detroit. But that's why you win the eight games. 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:13.640 You're no longer after three years of having to kind 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:16.160 of chase the dog chase in the car. You're in 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:18.960 the driver's seat right now, and you're in a position 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:21.960 to potentially, you know, control your destiny here going into 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:25.040 the playoffs. Well, and and also given that result on 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:29.000 Monday night, just how big was that win by Minnesota 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:31.479 on the road at Dallas on Sunday night. If Minnesota 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:34.480 is sitting at six and four and two games behind 0:12:34.480 --> 0:12:38.040 the Packers. With as top heavy as things are in 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:42.560 the conference, nobody's really talking about Minnesota in this conversation 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:45.280 for first round by and whatnot, not to say that 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:47.760 they would have been out of it. But the Vikings 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:52.160 they had they've navigated their toughest back to back. They 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:55.000 had to go at Kansas City and at Dallas back 0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:59.439 to back weeks, and they were able to split them. Um, 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:02.360 probably in somewhat the reverse way people thought with Patrick 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:05.240 Mahomes not playing for Kansas City. Maybe you think, Okay, 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:07.280 the Vikings will beat Kansas City, but then they won't 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:09.720 be able to beat a healthy Dallas Cowboys team. Well 0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:13.000 it went the other way. But to come off of 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:15.600 the loss in Kansas City and then and then to 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:18.080 do what they did down in Dallas knock off the 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:21.800 Cowboys stay right on the Packers heels at seven and three, 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:25.000 this is uh, this is just gonna be really fun 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:27.920 down the stretch. Um. And as I said, a lot 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:30.000 of a lot of big games, a lot of interesting 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:33.400 games to watch here. With Minnesota still having to play Seattle, 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:35.760 the Packers are gonna come out of the by and 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:38.800 go to San Francisco. As you said, San Francisco's next 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:42.360 game is against Arizona, a team that rallied from a 0:13:42.360 --> 0:13:44.960 deficit against them and took them right down to the wire, 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:47.800 um when they just played them recently on a Thursday 0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:51.560 night game. So there's a lot to be sorted out 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:54.880 here in the NFC over the last six seven weeks 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:56.840 as we get to the end of the end of 0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:58.840 the calendar year, and then it's all just a preview 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:00.760 for what's gonna happen in Jay anywhere. Yeah, and I'll 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:02.520 be honest with you, Mike, Arizona is not going to 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.240 the playoffs this year. But I do not want to 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.240 play the Arizona Cardinals. If you've watched the games they've had, 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:11.080 Kyler Murray looks like a legitimate talent and he seems 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:14.880 to really fit Kingsbury's offense. They're flawed, They are still 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:16.680 a little bit away, and I don't mean to be 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:19.920 dismissive of their chances, but they they have three potential 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:22.240 playoff teams staring right up on top of them in 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:25.760 that division. It's a law of math. But I wouldn't 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:29.480 want to play them right now because they play everyone 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:31.920 pretty much the same way, right down to the wire, 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:34.800 and that offense always gives them a chance. So you 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:36.840 have for San Francisco, they're gonna have to get themselves 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:39.760 back together here. Defensively, they're as good as they get 0:14:39.880 --> 0:14:43.520 right now in the NFL. You can talk about Shanahan's offense. 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:46.360 You can talk about, but I mean it is incredible. 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:49.720 You know, the job that they're doing defensively with that unit. 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:52.440 I know some deep ties there from Matt Lafleur with 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:55.680 that entire team, but it's it's a big question mark. 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:58.760 And if you look at Minnesota right now, Mike, that team, 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:01.560 the way that they've bounced back from some adversity, you 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:03.400 have to tip your cap to him, and you've got 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:05.040 to see where these chips fall over the next month. 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:07.360 Because that week six team matchup on Monday Night football 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:10.840 every single week, it looks more intriguing. Yeah, it's definitely 0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:14.120 getting more intriguing with with each passing week. Before I 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:18.040 forget here, Wes, because I did forget yesterday. Select Cousin 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:21.880 Subs locations are now offering delivery, whether you're ordering catering 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:24.520 or your favorite sub They're delivering right to you when 0:15:24.520 --> 0:15:27.800 you order online at Cousin Subs dot com. Cousin Subs 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:30.080 we believe in better am I allowed to take the 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:31.720 like the reins of the ship for the last five 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:34.120 minutes because the thing I wanted to ask you, and 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:35.360 I didn't get a chance to put this in our 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:37.160 pre production meeting, but I want to ask you is 0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:39.920 when you look at the totality of where the Packers 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:41.560 are at night now ten games. Because I have an 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:42.840 answer to this too, but I want to put it 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:46.440 out there for you. What is maybe the biggest thing 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:49.200 that has surprised you to this point? And I know 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:51.080 it's easy to point to the record, Jimmy Graham talked 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:53.120 about it, nobody expecting it to be eight and two, 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:55.520 But when you look at the construct of this team 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:58.440 and where they got through the first two plus months 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:01.160 of the season, Now, what, what's maybe one thing you 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:03.600 didn't know when we were going into that first game, 0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:06.680 you know, walking into Soldier Field, getting into that press 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:10.560 box that these past ten games I've talked, I think 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:13.760 what I would say for me, what surprises me the 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:17.560 most is the way things have gone in some different 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:20.280 forms and fashions with regards to Davante Adams, and I 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:23.280 mean that in a couple of ways. One, I wasn't 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:27.720 sure that this offense would be able to continue to 0:16:27.800 --> 0:16:30.680 ascend and continue to improve. We saw so much improvement 0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:33.880 in the first month and then Adams went down, but 0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:38.000 the offense continue to get better. Um that surprised me 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:41.800 a little bit. Matt Lafleur, Aaron Rodgers. They found something 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:44.720 that works with running the offense through the running backs, 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:47.160 through Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams and letting them be 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:50.160 the real bell cows offensively. And I think that's going 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:54.040 to continue as we saw against Carolina, even with Adams 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:57.080 being back. But then the other thing is that this 0:16:57.200 --> 0:17:00.800 offense would have the numbers that it had as and 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.640 Davante Adams hasn't caught a touchdown pass after the guy 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:08.000 has had three consecutive double digit touchdown pass seasons. As 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:10.520 we talked about yesterday, He's not worried about it, he's 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:13.360 not hung up on it. Credit to him and whatnot. 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:15.560 But yeah, if you had said to me after ten 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:20.040 games that Davantae Adams would not have a touchdown pass, 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:22.320 how many wins would the Packers have? I would not 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:25.720 I would not say eight. You know, so, um, that's 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.080 the thing. I that's the thing that stands out to 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:31.359 me in terms of how this offense has has managed, 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:36.679 has evolved, has adapted to the circumstances. And I and 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:40.040 I still don't think we've necessarily seen this Packers offense, 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:42.400 this Matt Lauthor offense with Aaron Rodgers at the Helm. 0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:44.520 I don't think we've seen it at its best yet. 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:46.960 And to me, that's what's going to be really intriguing 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:49.119 about the last six regular scenes. This isn't what I 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:51.320 wanted to say from my surprise, but the thing I've 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:53.879 been really encouraged by and and certainly l A was 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:56.720 a step back, but this offense. Watching that first month 0:17:56.760 --> 0:17:59.119 of September, there were sony people talking about how things 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:01.280 aren't quite working. You know, they're they're kind of ranking 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:04.240 low in some of these categories. Very quietly and steadily. 0:18:04.240 --> 0:18:06.600 It wasn't one particular game, but you saw them rise 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:10.199 in passing yards, in points in the in the indicators 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:13.760 that everybody points to for offensive success and efficiency. It's 0:18:13.760 --> 0:18:16.920 interesting the rushing numbers are still low compared to the 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:20.359 league average, but you I think that's arguably the thing 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:22.600 offensively that maybe you have the most confidence in right 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:24.600 now with what those two guys can do back there, 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:28.640 and seeing Aaron Jones evolve the way he has has 0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:31.320 been a real treat to watch. But even more so, 0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:32.960 there were so many years, Mike where you and I 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:36.120 would answer insider inbox questions and people asking what can 0:18:36.160 --> 0:18:38.680 the Packers do to get Jamal Williams and Aaron Jones 0:18:38.720 --> 0:18:42.240 on the field together. I'm not saying football is easy, 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:45.680 it really isn't, but when you look at your playmakers, 0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:47.760 I get I have so much respect for the way 0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:50.879 that Matt Lafleur decided both of these guys can go, 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:52.920 and both these guys have their strengths and the fact 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:54.560 that they both can be three down running backs, they 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:57.320 can pass, protect, they can catch. Yeah, find ways to 0:18:57.320 --> 0:19:00.240 get them on the field, innovate, don't be afraid of, 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:03.560 you know, utilizing your full talent, and and Flora has 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:06.080 been willing to do that. I want to just point out, 0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:09.160 in terms of my biggest surprise one the way they've 0:19:09.160 --> 0:19:11.520 started games this season. And there's been a few exceptions, 0:19:11.560 --> 0:19:13.880 but for the most part, they've just rocking it out, 0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:16.919 and that's been an area where they really struggled offensively, defensively, 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:19.240 everything the past few years, just being able to get 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:20.919 out get those points on the board right away. They 0:19:20.960 --> 0:19:23.720 usually had to work into it. But man, oh man, Mike, 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:25.480 and you've covered the team a lot longer than I have. 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:29.640 But their ability to finish, working through adversity, working through 0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:32.959 yards on both sides of the ball, special teams, you know, 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:36.160 at times not being able to come through, but finding 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:39.719 ways to win and crunch time. That is the number 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:42.720 one thing a team has to do if they want 0:19:42.720 --> 0:19:45.920 to play deep into the postseason. And this team, if 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:48.119 they can stay healthy, which to this point they have 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:51.119