WEBVTT - #686 Packers Unscripted: Back in the win column 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:10.959 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:11.000 --> 0:00:14.240 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always 0:00:14.240 --> 0:00:16.520 by my partner in crime, Weston Hodco. It's we're coming 0:00:16.560 --> 0:00:19.200 to you here from our studios at lambeau Field and 0:00:19.280 --> 0:00:22.400 finally West able to talk about a Packers victory for 0:00:22.440 --> 0:00:27.040 the first time in six weeks thirty a thriller in 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:30.639 overtime over the Dallas Cowboys at lambeau Field. And we 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:32.640 don't have a whole lot of time to talk about 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:35.840 it because there's another game right around the corner here 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:38.519 Thursday night coming up at home, and we have to 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:40.840 cover that in this show as well. But we will 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:44.480 start with reviewing this victory that snapped a five game 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:48.360 losing streak for green Bay. Packers were down fourteen at 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:51.160 the start of the fourth quarter, staring a six game 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:53.680 losing streak in the face, but both sides of the 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:56.040 ball stepped up, made the plays when they had to 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:59.160 make them, got the victory and Green Bay is hoping 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:03.800 that this will start to turn around its season. Yeah, 0:01:04.000 --> 0:01:07.520 I gotta have him moment uh, as as must win 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:10.800 as it probably gets for a team in early November, 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:14.440 the most impressive part of this thing, though, Mike is 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:17.600 it wasn't the defense, It wasn't the offense, It wasn't 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:21.720 special teams. It was the collective pulling together to get 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:25.000 a much needed victory. The Greeny Packers don't win this 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:27.000 game if they don't have the two minutes stopped by 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:29.960 the defense. They don't have being able to stop Dallas 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:33.560 on its first possession of overtime in scoring territory too, 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:37.560 in scoring territory. They don't get this win if the 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:40.480 offense doesn't rally, if Christian Watson doesn't get two of 0:01:40.520 --> 0:01:43.480 his three touchdowns, If Christian Watson in the fourth quarter, 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:45.600 if he doesn't end up converting a touchdown on a 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:49.400 fourth down situation, they don't get this win. They don't 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:51.680 get this win if Mason Crosby in the field goal 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:54.760 unit doesn't kind of rally there after a few miscues 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:57.040 early on in the game to get the game winner 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:00.440 after Alan Lazard breaks the slant into a thirty six gain. 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:04.400 It was about team football in the Green Bay Packers. 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:06.480 When you listen to Matt Lafleur, when you hear him 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:08.960 both at the podium and also with his locker room speech, 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:13.280 Mike that was a passionate, passionate man that believes in 0:02:13.320 --> 0:02:16.079 his football team. And even though Green Bay was three 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:18.440 and six going into this thing, they still felt like 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:21.480 they are a championship caliber team that is underperformed at 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:24.760 this point, I thought Sunday when they had to have it, 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:29.080 the guys responded, and certainly an emotional victory that you 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:31.880 had to immediately put in your back pocket because you 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:33.840 have the Tennessee Titans looking at your face here on 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:37.160 Thursday night. Yeah. Absolutely a tremendous release of emotion, though 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:40.840 in in so many ways with regard to finally snapping 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:43.000 this losing streak. But you said it, West, you hit 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:46.280 on a couple of the of of the key moments. 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:49.240 And when you when you look back at why the 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:51.960 Packers have piled up the losses that they have and 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:53.679 why it took them so long to get a win, 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:57.960 you know, you're you're knocking on the door for the 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.760 tying score in London in the four quarter, right, you 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:03.280 don't get the job done? What was it? A a 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:06.160 third and nine or a third and twelve in Washington 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.640 right where Heineke you know, completes the past by the 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:13.480 sideline to Terry McLaurin. That was essentially the ball game, 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:15.399 because the Packers are down to if you can get 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:17.160 the stop there, you get it back, you get a 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:19.160 you know, you get a chance. You don't make the 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:22.000 play your first intent on the seventeen yard line. For 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:24.680 everything that went wrong in Detroit, your first intent on 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:28.119 the seventeen yard line, down by six points, with enough 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:30.639 time to score the winning touchdown, and you don't get 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:33.120 it done in the clutch moments. What was this game? 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:36.520 It was fourth and seven, down by fourteen. It was 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:40.040 fourth and three in overtime when the Cowboys decided to 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:43.440 pass on the field goal, go for the first down. 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:45.600 Pass on the long field goal would have been I 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:48.360 believe a fifty three yard or they decided to go 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:50.680 for the first down, and the defense gets that stop 0:03:50.720 --> 0:03:53.480 on fourth and three, it's third and short and the 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:57.120 play actions slanted to almaz Art. It's making the plays 0:03:57.160 --> 0:03:59.360 in the key moments. That is the You can talk 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:02.960 about game plans and play calling and all this kind 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:06.920 of stuff. It's about making it happen in the key moments. 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:09.640 And the Packers were able to do that on Sunday 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:11.800 when they hadn't been able to do that for the 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:15.040 previous five weeks. And and that's the difference between wins 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:17.120 and losses in this league. In a big gut check too, 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:19.760 because you see a guy like Christian Watson, who again 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:21.760 had more receiving yards in that game than he had 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:24.719 all season, you know, due to injuries and opportunities and everything, 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:28.279 being able to come back after that scare, uh, you know, 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:31.200 a week earlier and and step up in a big 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:33.600 way for an offense that needed it. When he completed 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:36.000 that first fifty eight yard touchdown pass, I think Aaron 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:39.039 Rodgers at that point in fifteen passing yards UM. They 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:42.520 ran the ball well against loaded boxes. Aaron Jones and 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:47.240 a J. Dillon in concert with one another, looked really good. Defensively, 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:49.480 they had to stitch this thing together. I mean, they 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:52.520 lost Eric Stokes, So then you have Darnell Savage playing 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:54.520 in the slot for an extended period of time for 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:57.120 really the first time. Rudy Ford on the back end, 0:04:57.120 --> 0:05:00.880 who had one interception in his career before day leaves 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:04.280 lambeau Field with two more. UM. There just were so 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:06.840 many areas where guys stepped up. And when you think 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:09.520 about the best Packers teams that we've covered, both underneath 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:13.760 Matt Lafloor and Mike McCarthy. It's where they've had complimentary 0:05:13.839 --> 0:05:16.760 players step up and phil voids not just your superstars. 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:18.520 And when you lose Rashan Gary, when you don't have 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:21.320 Romeo Dobbs, when you've taken as many hits as they 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:24.200 took a week earlier in Detroit, somebody else has to 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:27.880 be the guy that that carries that water and the thing. Honestly, 0:05:27.920 --> 0:05:30.080 Mike that I was most impressed with what this game 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:33.760 is and I wrote this an insider inbox. The Packers 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.719 have had games were defensively, they looked great on a 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.640 on a stat sheet. You know, the passing yards were low, 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:43.000 maybe they you know, the rushing yards weren't too bad, 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:45.360 but ultimately when they need to make a stop, they 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:47.480 didn't make it. This game. If you look at the 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:50.680 box score, you see Dallas put up over four total yards. 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:53.359 But in terms of the sniff test, in terms of 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:55.640 the eye test when you watched it, that was a 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:58.680 really good defensive effort by green Bay. Third quarter got 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:01.000 away from a little bit, but they were able to 0:06:01.000 --> 0:06:03.880 get stops when they needed to, and also by making 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:08.960 Dallas run seventy nine offensive plays in not rupturing for explosives. 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:12.200 That's ultimately what allowed them to get some takeaway opportunities. 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:14.039 It was how you draw it up with the Green 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:17.160 Bay Packers, and I thought, overall a very complete performance 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:21.200 all things considered. Yeah, you talk about a defense that 0:06:21.200 --> 0:06:25.080 that started strong early in the game and finished strong late. 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:27.200 There were some things certainly that got away in the 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:30.760 middle of the game. And Amari Rodgers fumbled punt was 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:34.760 a huge momentum shift, and that was unfortunate because the 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:37.600 Packers defense had stopped Dallas when they were backed up 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:39.760 on the five yard line, stopped him, got the three 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:43.040 and out. The scores tied their early third quarter fourteen all, 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:45.920 but Amari Rodgers fumbles the punt. Dallas gets the ball 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:48.520 right back and before you can blink your eyes, Dallas 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:52.480 turns that momentum shift into two touchdowns and suddenly it's fourteen. 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:57.359 But this defense, it was strong early. It did rise 0:06:57.480 --> 0:07:01.360 up in a I mean a huge moment after Aaron 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:05.440 Rodgers had uh suffered the sack fumble on his own 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:08.560 ten yard line. Dallas was already up seven nothing at 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:11.200 that point in the second quarter, looking to add to that, 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:13.760 and then on third and goal from the eleven. Rudy 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:16.440 Ford cuts in front of Dalton Sheltz at the goal line, 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:20.640 gets that gets that first interception. Then on Dallas's next possession, 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:23.400 Rudy Ford gets another interception on a third down pass 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:26.000 over the middle, similar type of thing, but this one 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:29.080 was more of a downfield throw towards Ceedee Lamb, but 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:32.480 he undercuts that one as well. Big returns on both 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:35.160 them for Ford, and the Packers end up converting both 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:39.240 of those turnovers into touchdowns. The Packers had fourteen points 0:07:39.280 --> 0:07:43.000 off of takeaways all season long through the first nine games. 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:46.520 In Game ten, you get fourteen points off of two 0:07:46.600 --> 0:07:49.440 takeaways to to double that season total. So a lot 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:53.840 going on there. Christian Watson. You mentioned it, and if 0:07:53.840 --> 0:07:56.400 this weren't a truly unscripted show, I would have our 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:59.920 producer Marvin go back and call up my monologue for 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:03.240 last week on what Christian Watson needs to do and 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:06.200 how important he is for this offense and what he 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.440 can mean to it. We saw it. It came to 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:11.800 it came to fruition. His speed is something that teams 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:14.000 have to deal with and if you are going to 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:17.280 try to cover Christian Watson with that speed one on 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:21.520 one on the outside. Because you are concerned about A J. 0:08:21.920 --> 0:08:24.640 Dylan and Aaron Jones running the ball at you between 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:27.760 the tackles, you have to be able to make defenses 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:29.960 pay for that. And Christian Watson is the guy that 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:32.080 can make you pay because of that speed. And he 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:34.880 did that. The fifty eight yard touched down, the thirty 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:38.319 nine yard touchdown on fourth and seven, those were pure speed. 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:42.199 And then he had the athleticism, the hands and everything 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:44.840 to be able to be able to make the catches 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:50.120 with um. With regard to running the ball, though you 0:08:50.160 --> 0:08:53.319 had said it, the Packers ran the ball into some 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:57.679 loaded boxes. They stayed committed to it, and we saw 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:01.680 in the second half a J. Dillon busted a seventeen 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:04.920 yard run, Aaron Jones busted a twenty three yard run. 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:08.080 It's when you when you have when you have that 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:10.559 commitment to it and you pound away and pound away 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:14.200 even though you want to get the explosive plays. And yes, 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:17.000 the explosive plays in the passing game are important, but 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:19.560 the explosive plays in the running game can happen when 0:09:19.679 --> 0:09:22.160 defense gets tired, when a defense gets worn down, and 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:25.880 I thought the Packers uh took advantage of that in 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:28.440 in big moments against the Cowboys and the Spotford Let's 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:30.800 be real moment of the week that it isn't just 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:33.680 the big plays the run game, you know creates, because 0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:35.600 certainly you want to rupture that. Certainly you want to 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:38.079 make the second third level of the Cowboys defense think 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:40.880 a little bit. But it's looking at those third and 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:45.480 short opportunities. Why do shot plays largely work, Mike. Not 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:47.960 not because oh, well the receiver beat this guy and 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:51.440 they got a big complation. No, it's because of what 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:54.719 the defense is having to account for, worrying that you're 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:57.360 going to run the ball against third and one. I 0:09:57.520 --> 0:10:00.280 look at that play with Alan Lazard and a for time, 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:03.719 and Lazard talked about it after the game. That probably 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:07.079 doesn't work the way it worked if it wasn't for 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:10.040 the Packers running the ball the way they did. Because 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:14.320 ultimately Lazard was able to catch the slant. Maybe would 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:17.120 have been a first down regardless, but with the way 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:20.680 that Dallas was playing them, that's what allowed the middle 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:23.120 of the field to come open for Lazard and ultimately 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:25.400 you get down to the twenty yard line whatever it was, 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:27.840 and then you have the five yard run by Aaron Jones. 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:30.800 He gets there's a personal follow out of bounds and 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:33.640 Mason Crosby goes out there for the game winner. The 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:38.600 Packers were able to build the offense and their tempo 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:42.160 off of the commitment to the run and credit to 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:45.720 that offensive line playing together all every snap for the 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:48.760 first time the season. I believe Zack tom did not 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:51.000 have to even step on the field in this game, 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:54.440 same same starting lineup for the first time in back 0:10:54.480 --> 0:10:57.640 to back right for for the Packers on the offensive line. 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:00.400 That that is a huge factor as well terms of 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:02.920 what you feel you can hang your hat on offensively 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:05.520 and go to in the key moments. In sixty four 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:09.439 offensive snaps, all five offensive lineman played that you saw 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:12.359 them throughout the game, Mike getting more and more comfortable. 0:11:12.679 --> 0:11:15.360 I think you see yosh nieman in John running now 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:18.319 on the right side. Every week they've been improving. We 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:20.760 got to see David bakti Are pulling again on a 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:23.680 stretch play that was a hallmark of the offense when 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:27.880 botr before this knee injury, and then for Jones to 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:29.599 cut up defense is the way he is and in 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:31.920 allowing things to open up for a j Dillon just 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:34.280 that was the most impressive thing to me, kind of 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:37.440 like with Rudy Ford's interception. Defensively, with everything that happened late, 0:11:37.720 --> 0:11:40.200 it kind of got lost in the wash a little bit. 0:11:40.440 --> 0:11:43.040 The way the Packers ran the ball when you have 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:45.400 those big completions to Watson, something that probably didn't get 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:48.199 talked about nearly enough. Yeah, my my favorite statistic of 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:52.160 many interesting to statistics to look at from this game, 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:54.280 but my favorite one is the fact that the Packers 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:57.200 two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to tie the 0:11:57.240 --> 0:12:00.440 game covered a hundred and sixty five yards. Those two 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:03.360 drives when you're down by fourteen and the fourth quarter, 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:07.160 seventy of those hundred and sixty five yards were on 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:09.840 the ground. How often does that happen in a in 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:13.320 a multi score fourth quarter comeback, that a team gets 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:17.480 almost half of its yardage on multiple scoring drives on 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:21.320 the ground. The the the commitment to the ground game, 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:24.160 and the way the way the Packers offensive lineman, as 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:26.080 you said, we're kind of they kind of kept feeling 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:27.920 it as as the game was going on, and then 0:12:28.000 --> 0:12:30.320 you were able to to to bust a couple of 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:33.240 big ones in the fourth quarter. There, I thought that 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:36.320 was I thought that was outstanding. The other statistic I 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:38.880 really liked to that I went through and figured this 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:41.880 out the Cowboys. The Cowboys were five out of fifteen. 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:45.040 Going back to the Packers defensive performance here, Cowboys were 0:12:45.040 --> 0:12:47.600 five out of fifteen on third downs in the game. 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:52.280 Three of those five third down conversions were one, one, 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:56.280 and two yards. When the Cowboys needed three yards or 0:12:56.360 --> 0:12:58.880 more on third down, they were two out of twelve 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:01.880 the Packers third down defense in this game. Now, a 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:05.160 couple of those ended up being fourth and ones. And 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:07.679 and you know, Dak Prescott did the you know, quarterback 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:11.240 sneak to convert, but two out of twelve on third 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:14.160 downs when you know it was three yards or more 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:17.400 to go, Packers defense did. Again, I just go back 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:19.160 to saying it in the clutch moments when you have 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:21.280 to have it, the Packers defense did a pretty darn 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:23.760 good job. And uh, and the fact that both of 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:26.760 Rudy Ford's interceptions stepping in as a starting safety with 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:30.000 Darnell Savage moving to the slot in the nickel defense, 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:34.480 both of the interceptions come on third down, right that, Uh, 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.440 that's how you have to play to win, especially against 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:40.400 a team like the Cowboys that is, you know, has 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:44.120 major playoff and potential Super Bowl aspirations. They came in 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:47.319 here six and two, ride and high. Coming off a 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:49.240 bye week, They're like, all right, we're rested up. They 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:51.880 didn't have Zeke Elliott, but they pretty much had the 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:54.840 rest of their the rest of their cast and uh 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:56.640 and they were they were loaded for bear and the 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:59.240 Packers took every shot. They delivered well. And let's be honest, 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:01.560 I mean certain there were some ruptures there in the 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:03.800 middle with the We talked about the draw plays that 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:05.640 Tony Pollard was able to get some yards on. But 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:08.120 the fact of the matter is, Mike, we can say 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:10.440 it because we don't work for the Dallas Cowboys. Um, 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:12.400 Tony Pollard could be a starting running back at a 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:17.240 lot of NFL teams. Absolutely, the the Cowboys have one 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:19.440 of the biggest celebrity backs in the league and Zeke 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:23.000 for good reason. But the way Pollard has emerged, I mean, 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:25.320 it's created a lot of tough questions for them this year. 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:27.360 And I thought this game showed that he can be 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:29.320 a bell cow few even to be a hundred whatever 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:32.880 it was. I think he had a d It's not 0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:34.880 by accident. He's a talent, and a lot of those 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:36.840 a lot of those were on draw plays. The Packers 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:39.840 kept getting the Cowboys into second and long, either by 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:42.160 a good first down stop or maybe a penalty in 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:45.280 a second and long situation, but then they weren't ready 0:14:45.280 --> 0:14:47.440 for the draw play. And Joe Barry even said on 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:49.840 Monday when he spoke to the media, kind of infuriated 0:14:49.920 --> 0:14:52.720 him the way the way because because he felt it 0:14:52.760 --> 0:14:55.080 was it was an execution thing with regard to the 0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:58.120 second level, the linebackers and safeties in terms of who 0:14:58.120 --> 0:15:00.880 fits where to stop the You know, you're you're very 0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:03.400 rarely going to stop a drawplay at the line of scrimmage, 0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:06.240 but they're running a drawplay because it's long yardage. If 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:08.560 you make that tackle just four or five yards down field, 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.000 you take that as a win. The Packers weren't doing that, 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:13.960 and those those draw plays were working. Honestly, It's a 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:16.000 good not not They're gonna get hit in a different 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:17.840 way with the run this week. We'll talk about in 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:20.280 a second, but it is a good learning lesson for 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:22.000 them of the importance of that because some of those 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:24.200 third and short opportunities that we talked about We're dad 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:25.760 ended up doing some sneaks. A lot of those are 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:28.840 created off of second and really favorable second and you 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:31.400 know three minus, you know, like, so that's gonna be 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:34.080 where they have to short up. But I will say 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:37.280 from the past defense perspective, see, Lamb got some yards there, 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:39.960 but for the most part, considering the big adjustment they 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:42.880 made there, I was really impressed by how the secondary played. 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:44.960 I mean, Jolly Alexander's at the peak of his powers 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:47.840 right now. Um, you know, completely shut down Michael Gallup 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:49.720 when he was against him. Lamb moved to the slot 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:52.480 a little bit, had some success, but the fact is 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:54.840 that that was a big switch up they made their 0:15:54.920 --> 0:15:56.880 Rudy Ford had played a little bit this season, but 0:15:56.920 --> 0:15:58.920 not a lot, mostly only in the dime package or 0:15:58.960 --> 0:16:01.800 when guys were hurt. Savage going to the slot. You 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:04.280 saw some of the blitzing options they did with Savage. 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:05.800 I think you're gonna have to get a little bit 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:08.480 more creative with moving forward with how you go about 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:11.680 pass rushing without overshawn Gary. Yeah, Barry said that as 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:14.240 well on Monday. Yeah, absolutely so. I mean, that's that's 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:15.840 gonna be a part of this thing too. And you 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:17.760 know guys are stepping up. I mean Jaren Reid, you 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:19.920 talked about him from the intro three quarterback hits in 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:22.520 this game. I mean, that's that's what you're gonna need. 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:24.840 You're gonna need guys that maybe aren't typically your your 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:27.360 pass rushers, aren't typically the stack guys, you know, being 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.320 able to get you some production. Yeah, my, what you 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:32.360 might have missed. Uh put together several film clips on 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:35.720 Jared Reid sort of showing how his second half performance 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:39.480 was building up to him making that big play fourth 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:42.520 down their fourth and three in overtime. So we do 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:44.480 have to turn the page to the next game, though, 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:46.720 because it is coming up awfully quickly, So I'll take 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:49.640 care of some sponsor business before we do that. Serious 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:53.280 x M NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up 0:16:53.320 --> 0:16:56.400 to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need. 0:16:57.160 --> 0:16:59.800 Seven three sixty five and at Cousin Subs, we have 0:16:59.840 --> 0:17:02.440 some thing for everyone, like our Wisconsin cheese curds, mac 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:05.240 and cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with 0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:08.040 your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. Cousin Subs 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:12.960 fifty years of better. Alright, The Tennessee Titans are up next. 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:17.520 It will be Thursday night football at lambeau Field. The 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:21.119 color rush white, all white uniforms, right, Packers are going 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:25.320 to be wearing those, So that's my understanding. Official yet, 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:31.119 but yeah, that's my understanding. That's looking all right. Well, 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:37.360 you alluded to it earlier. Derrick Henry, the big powerful 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:41.400 running back. What what was I think Matt Lafleur used, 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:45.000 he said, he called him both a creature and a 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:48.080 freak of nature. There's a poem to be a poem 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:51.600 to be put together with Joe Barry. Joe Barry called 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:54.919 it Preston Smith looks like Preston Smith the d That 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:58.480 was pretty good too. Derrick Henry nine and twenty three 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:02.040 yards nine tough downs in nine games. The math is 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:03.920 pretty easy that that's about a hundred yards of game 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:07.280 and one touchdown every week for Derrick Henry's averaging four 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:10.480 point six yards to carry. I think the really intriguing 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:14.639 thing in this matchup is this bell cow back in 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:17.080 Derrick Henry coming in. While on the other side, the 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:21.600 Packers have their one to punch that has produced over 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:24.000 two hundred yards rushing in two of the last three 0:18:24.040 --> 0:18:28.440 ball games. The Detroit game Packers were not successful running 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:31.800 the ball and got away from it, but by and 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:34.879 large over the in recent weeks, the Packers have found 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:37.640 some rhythm with their running game. So it makes makes 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:40.359 for an interesting match up here in this one. A 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:43.439 big difference though, being the Packers statistically have had a 0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:46.080 lot more trouble stopping the run than the Titans. The 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:49.560 Titans ranked I believe second in the league in UH 0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:53.040 in rushing yards per game allowed, So be interesting to 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:55.720 see how this plays out. But um, but you know 0:18:56.359 --> 0:18:58.800 the Titans are gonna The Titans are gonna feed Derrick 0:18:58.840 --> 0:19:01.080 Henry and make the Packers stop him. And even if 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:03.719 they stop him for a quarter and a half or 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:06.040 two quarters or two and even three and a half, 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:08.600 Derrick Henry is still going to get the football all 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:11.160 night long on Thursday. The other thing that Joe Barry 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:14.239 said during his Monday news conference was tackling plan. You 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:17.080 have to have a tackling plan for how you approach Henry. 0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:19.480 And that is so true because it isn't just gonna 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:21.720 be one guy. You have a running back that is 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:24.320 bigger than most inside linebackers. You have a running back 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:26.160 that you do not want to see at the third 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:28.440 level with the secondary, you have a guy that must 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:32.159 be gang tackled by everybody on the field and ultimately, 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:34.840 as Barry also said, the first film he watched this 0:19:34.920 --> 0:19:37.760 week was going back to that two thousand twenty game 0:19:37.760 --> 0:19:40.920 against the Tennessee Titans before he was the d C. 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:44.159 But Mike, everything that you just talked about, your one 0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:47.880 last look everything. The Packers accomplished that in that game 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:50.040 against the Titans, and it was one of the more 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:53.880 impressive performances of the season. You know, Henry still got 0:19:53.960 --> 0:19:55.920 his He just came a yard short or two yards 0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:58.399