WEBVTT - #691 Packers Unscripted: Back from the bye 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:10.520 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:14.080 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always 0:00:14.120 --> 0:00:16.639 by my trusted colleague Weston hod Kowitz. We're coming to 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:19.640 you here from our studios at lambeau Field. Back from 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:22.560 the bye week, Weston, I hope you had a good 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:25.800 weekend of rest and recuperation. How did it go? Yeah, 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:28.920 it was fun and uh, I mean watched a little 0:00:28.920 --> 0:00:31.520 bit of football, but otherwise it was a lot of 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:36.639 whole Christmas shopping family time. And uh. I also got 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:39.000 even had a chance to take in a Green Bay 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:42.800 women's basketball game on Saturday, so being able to get 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:46.080 old ground campus first time I think I've been on 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:48.839 campus in like ten years. But no, it was it 0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:50.280 was a good It was a fun time. I hope 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:54.160 your your weekend was good as well. And tell you what, man, 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:56.680 it took so long to get to this bye week. 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:58.400 I mean, if you think about it, yes, there was 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:01.320 that bye week at the end of training camp, but 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:03.760 I mean it's been a four and a half month 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:06.160 gauntlet if you go back to the beginning of training camp. 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:08.680 So I can only imagine how these guys felt finally 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:10.759 get a chance to arrest their bodies. We are shooting 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:15.720 this before practice on Monday, so we'll just by Tuesday, 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:18.520 so we'll see what the injury report looks like and 0:01:18.520 --> 0:01:21.360 who's available for them. But you would hope, based on 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:24.319 everything Matt Lafloor said last week, this should be on 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:26.920 paper the healthiest Green Bay's probably been all season coming 0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:29.080 out of this. Yeah, as you can probably tell, my 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:33.280 voice has not one and recovered from the illness that 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.679 I've been dealing with for quite a while. But I 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:41.119 feel better than I sound, So the weekend off was good. 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:43.680 I think you just sound tougher like. It's like like 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:49.920 like a biker now mcgrawl a mcgrawler um. But but healthwise, 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:54.040 you're right. The Packers hopefully are headed into this stretch 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:56.440 run here where let's face it, their backs are against 0:01:56.440 --> 0:01:59.400 the wall, right and even even if the Packers are 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:01.480 able to put together winning streak can win out. There 0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:04.600 no guarantees as to where things are going to go 0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:10.600 with the playoff seating. But that being said, the opponent 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:14.800 next up Monday night football. It will be at lambeau 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:18.000 Field the Los Angeles Rams and Lo and behold, look 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:20.959 who the quarterback is it's Baker Mayfield, and it will 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:25.920 be almost a calendar year to the day, fifty one 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:28.560 weeks really rather than fifty two that the Packers are 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:31.119 going to see Baker Mayfield again. He was the quarterback 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:36.680 on Christmas for the Cleveland Browns last year. Now he 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:39.840 has taken over the offense for the Los Angeles Rams, 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:44.000 getting claimed off waivers last week Tuesday, and then he 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:47.600 was leading a two touchdown comeback in the final five 0:02:47.680 --> 0:02:51.280 minutes of the fourth quarter on Thursday Night Football, just 0:02:51.880 --> 0:02:56.720 two days after he arrived at the Rams facility. It 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:59.560 was a remarkable win that the Rams pulled off last week, 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:04.639 and Baker Mayfield has injected some energy into a defending 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:07.920 Super Bowl champion that has not had the season it wanted. 0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:11.120 No And as I said on our Insider Inbox on Tuesday, 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:13.960 I'm like, hey, they're still playing with the purpose even 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:19.799 though the Rams season, by all intensive purposes is over. Um, 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:23.200 did you see that stat about how up until last week, 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:25.560 I think there's only three times in NFL history or 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:27.600 something like that that a team had come back from 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:29.960 thirteen plus points in the last five minutes of the 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:32.680 game or whatever. And then it happened twice last week, 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:35.280 twice in a week on Monday Night Football with Tom 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:38.040 Brady and the Buccaneers, and then on on Thursday Night Football. 0:03:38.120 --> 0:03:39.960 Here's the other stat I saw though that kind of 0:03:39.960 --> 0:03:43.080 blew me away. There have been eight times this season 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:47.320 that a team has been leading a game at halftime 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:50.840 by double digits and lost, and four of the eight 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:54.200 have been the Raiders. Four of the eight have been 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:57.440 the Raiders. And you know that that's that's a team. 0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:01.240 I mean, this the season, the season the Raiders have had, obviously, 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:05.120 the fourth being the Baker Mayfield come back last Thursday 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:09.000 night when um, the I mean the Rams sort of 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:12.560 looked like they'd be left for dead at sixteen to three, 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:16.719 and uh and Baker Mayfield pulls pulls it out of fire. Here. 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:19.440 I'm gonna put you on the spot here. Do you 0:04:19.520 --> 0:04:23.440 know the last time the Packers face the same quarterback, 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:26.760 the same opposing starting quarterback in back to back years 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:31.400 but with different teams. Nope, it's actually more recent than that, 0:04:31.480 --> 0:04:34.160 and I don't know if Kyle Orton was Orton might 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:36.360 have been back to It's actually in the Matt Lafleur era, 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:39.280 which I didn't realize until I got some assistance from 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:43.840 Tom Fanning in the communications to part No Philip Rivers 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:47.680 Philip Rivers the Chargers in nineteen and then the Indianapolis 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:52.560 Colts in so um so it actually happened fairly recently. 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:55.800 But um this situation being a little bit different though, 0:04:55.839 --> 0:05:00.120 because Mayfield just joined the Rams and the Packers have 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:02.640 a lot of familiarity with the Ram scheme and Sean 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:06.359 McVeigh they played them a few times um here in 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:09.520 the Mattle Floor era. But it's a matter of figuring 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:13.560 out what does Baker Mayfield do well in this scheme? 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:16.520 And I think it's it's it's a difficult it's a 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:20.440 difficult preparation sequence here for Green Bay to get ready 0:05:20.480 --> 0:05:22.640 for this. And if I can, my going back to 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:25.120 that game between the Raiders and the Rams, because a 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:27.359 lot of people ask that same question this week to 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:29.279 you and I about Okay, well, what do the Packers 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:31.600 have to do? What? What? What? What is you know 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:34.400 seeing this magic that Mayfield created at the end of 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:36.839 that game. Well, there's a couple of things that played 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:41.440 into that. Vegas lost that game in every way you 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:45.440 could lose the question, chief among them being you know 0:05:45.560 --> 0:05:48.120 how poorly you know, David Carr kind of played throughout 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:51.200 Derek Cark, excuse me, played throughout that game. Freudian slipped there, 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:55.280 you know, the turnovers, the inability to get the offense going, 0:05:55.800 --> 0:05:58.200 because the thing about l A is, you know they're 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:01.200 hurting everywhere, but def pensively they still have a very 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:05.920 formidable defense, and offensively, there was enough that the Raiders 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:09.159 left that door open enough that Mayfield was able to 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:12.360 charge that door right in. And I think we've well 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:15.760 established this year, outside of maybe Max Crosby, you know, 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:19.919 the Raiders defense has been largely a disappointment. Well, okay, 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.479 so you break it down like this, where you're in 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:26.279 a game like that, you have absolutely nothing to lose, 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:29.040 and as much as Baker Mayfield is walking in through 0:06:29.040 --> 0:06:32.360 the back door, almost like a Fantasy football plug in play, 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:36.440 the Los Angeles Raiders weren't preparing for that either, And 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:39.440 I thought that shine through to that end. I think 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:41.320 that's for Green Bay and again we'll we'll probably get 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:42.800 more into the breaking down the excess and os in 0:06:42.839 --> 0:06:44.200 a couple of days, but Green Bay is going to 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:46.760 have a week and half to prepare here and meshing 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:51.159 Baker mayfiel skill set with this vast knowledge they have 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:54.520 of Sean McVeigh scheme offensively defensively, the type of system 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:57.400 he runs. They've played McVeigh a lot, so marrying up 0:06:57.400 --> 0:06:59.479 those two concepts I think is going to be critical, 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:01.719 But it's going to ultimately come down to winning the 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:04.440 turnover battle and not allowing a team to finish the 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:06.680 way that the Raiders allowed the Rams to finish in 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.640 that game. Yeah, well, you mentioned you mentioned the Rams 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:12.000 defense and we will see as the week goes on 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:14.360 what the status will be with Aaron Donald in the 0:07:14.360 --> 0:07:17.960 middle of that Rams defense because that unit is still 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:20.280 playing awfully well. But Donald has been in and out 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:22.760 of the lineup, has has missed some games, So that 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:26.240 will definitely be a storyline to watch this week. And 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:29.120 you brought up the turnover battle. Hey, last year when 0:07:29.120 --> 0:07:32.240 Baker Mayfield came into lambeau Field, he through four interceptions 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:35.280 Rousseul Douglas had to including the clincher at the end 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:37.600 of the game. Donald Savage had one chance and Sullivan 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:41.560 had one. Four interceptions on Christmas at lambeau last year 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:45.840 from Baker Mayfield um two win for the Packers. Yeah, 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:48.240 ended up ended up being a one A one score game. 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:50.440 I mean Douglas. Douglas is interception at the end, I 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:53.840 mean the Mayfield. Mayfield, despite having thrown three interceptions to 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:56.120 that point, was trying to drive the Browns for a 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:59.720 game winning score there late in the fourth quarter. So, um, 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:03.800 you absolutely right that that the Packers have to Uh, 0:08:04.080 --> 0:08:07.280 the Packers have to win that category. I'll be curious 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:09.400 to see when we here. We'll hear later this week 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:12.600 from Aaron Rodgers. He talked about after the victory over 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:16.480 the Bears, um that the extra time off, he's hoping 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:18.400 that you know, his thumb will be back to a 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:20.880 hundred percent or very close to it, that his ribs 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:23.119 will be back to a hundred percent or very close 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:27.200 to it. Um. So, and then as we've talked about 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:29.800 the the emergence of Christian Watson, what he's meant to 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:32.880 the offense, the Packers hopefully can get Romeo Dobbs back 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:35.760 and get those two those two rookie wide receivers on 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:39.320 the field. We've seen We've seen this Green Bay offense 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:44.400 making some incremental steps, some improvement, even even in defeat 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:49.600 in Philadelphia. We talked about, um, where where this offense 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:53.040 appeared to be trending, and uh, you know, I'm very 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:56.960 curious if the Packers can get Watson and Dobbs on 0:08:57.000 --> 0:09:00.360 the field together and a healthier Aaron Rodgers. Don't know 0:09:00.360 --> 0:09:02.680 what the situation will be at left tackle, but it 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:05.199 also you know, anytime this time off helps your running 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:07.440 backs to these you know, Aaron Johns, a J. Dillon. 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:10.720 With the beatings that they've taken, I'm very interested to 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:14.080 see just what this Green Bay offense can look like 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:16.679 now as it hits the stretch run. This has been 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:19.840 a disappointing season for the Packers, and I understand when 0:09:19.880 --> 0:09:22.760 you say that the d were there, people automatically go 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:26.479 there five and eight. That's not why. To me, it's disappointing. 0:09:26.760 --> 0:09:30.000 It's disappointing for the way in which the Philadelphia Eagles 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:34.199 ran the New York Giants out of their own stadium 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:37.920 this past weekend. It's disappointing in that you see, you know, 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:40.600 teams that I think the Packers can play with. I 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:43.079 think teams that the Packers can beat. They're gonna be 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:45.760 the ones, you know, probably feeling more comfortable in this 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:48.920 playoff race than Green Bay because they fell behind the 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:51.560 eight ball a little bit. The Packers have been able 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:53.880 to play with all these teams, they just haven't won 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:56.920 enough of those games. And there's a fine line between 0:09:56.960 --> 0:10:01.040 all that. Now where I look at this matchup with 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:03.680 the Rams, because people are going to talk about playoffs scenarios, 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:05.200 and I know there's a lot of stories out there 0:10:05.280 --> 0:10:07.480 right now talking about, Okay, this is the way they 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:09.640 can do it. It might be unlikely in problem, but 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:11.880 this is how they do it. You can't worry about 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:14.480 any of that. The Packers have to worry about beating 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:18.120 l A on Monday. Fortunately for them this weekend, with 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:23.240 the exception of their favorite NFC Division team, the Minnesota Vikings, 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:26.280 the Packers did get a lot of help throughout these games. 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:30.640 The Giants lost again. Shoot, the Houston Texans almost upset 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:36.440 the Dallas Cowboys. You know, Carolina about any given Sunday, right, Yes, 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:39.640 Carolina took your care of business in Seattle venue that 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:42.760 at one time the Seahawks could never lose in. So 0:10:42.840 --> 0:10:45.440 they got the help they need. But in order to 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:48.520 help themselves, Green Bay has to get that train moving 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:51.160 on Monday night. Yeah. Absolutely, I want to take care 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:53.520 a little bit of sponsor business here. West serious x 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:56.559 M NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to 0:10:56.600 --> 0:10:59.640 the minute in NFL news that true football fanatics need 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:03.079 twenty four seven, three six five And at Cousin Subs, 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:05.720 we have something for everyone like our Wisconsin Cheese curds, 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:08.720 mac and cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:11.080 with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. Cousin 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:15.520 Subs fifty years of better. All right, we will have 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:17.440 another show this week and we will get into a 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:19.560 little bit more about the Rams and the Packers Keys 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:22.760 to Victory and all that one thing that we don't 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:25.720 get enough time on this show to talk about on 0:11:25.760 --> 0:11:28.400 a regular basis, and that's mostly my fault since I 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:30.599 sort of steer the ship, but I think this is 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:32.840 a good opportunity to do so. I'm talking about some 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:36.920 of the off the field things and we we really 0:11:37.120 --> 0:11:40.199 need to give a shout out to Aaron Jones. He 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:44.160 is the Packers nominee for the Walter Payton Man of 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:47.640 the Year Award for the second consecutive year, which doesn't 0:11:47.640 --> 0:11:52.920 happen very often, and and he has now uh, he 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:56.840 has now reached the finalist stage for the Art Rooney 0:11:56.880 --> 0:12:01.200 Sportsmanship Award. Every team nominates Boddy for that award, and 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:03.400 then the thirty two nominees has whittled down to a 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:06.160 list of eight finalists, and then a winner will be 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:09.280 chosen from that list of eight. And Aaron Jones, who 0:12:09.280 --> 0:12:11.440 has been in the running for that award before. If 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:13.360 I'm not mistake, don't believe he was a finalist, but 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:14.920 he was one. He was, He was one of the 0:12:14.960 --> 0:12:18.080 thirty two. Now he's a finalist in the final eight. 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:24.160 He can't say enough about the man that Aaron Jones is. 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:28.319 Aside from the touchdowns and the statistics and the highlights 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:32.719 and everything that he creates, Aaron Jones is everything that 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:36.920 it means to be a Green Bay Packer, and Packers 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:40.160 fans should be mighty proud of it. Well, and Aaron whenever, 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:42.640 you know, and hopefully plays another ten years, but whenever 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:44.120 that day, I mean, the guy is going to be 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:47.360 a beloved figure um for decades to come after. The 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:48.959 type of guy that you can imagine is going to 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:52.000 come back for alumni weekends and you know, for community 0:12:52.000 --> 0:12:54.480 outreach events. I mean what him and his twin brother 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:58.680 Elvin have done creating their own foundation. Yeah, I've said this, 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:01.240 Mike An inbox. And I know I've reiterated on these 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:05.520 shows before, but it's great when professional athletes get out 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:10.480 in the community, do charitable work, use their platform for 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:13.320 the greater good. But what I appreciate the most about 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:17.199 Aaron Jones is he isn't necessarily doing it for the photos, 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:20.000 the photo ops. He's not doing it to look good. 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:22.720 He's not doing it because he's supposed to. He's a 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:25.280 guy that the idea of service was ingrained in him 0:13:25.280 --> 0:13:27.800 at a young age, and he wants to do that 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:29.760 because he remembers being on the other side of it, 0:13:29.800 --> 0:13:32.720 remembers being in El Paso, Texas, when there weren't necessarily 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:35.680 NFL you know, camps for kids, you know, with with 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:38.720 pro athletes involved with them. You know, he he came 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:41.480 up in one of the hardest ways possible. A great 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:43.800 family system around it, but I mean moving around the 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:48.320 country a lot, you know, military family. It's you know, 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:52.559 being under the radar in Texas. To to see him 0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:54.880 be able to to move the needle the way he 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:57.720 has and in the way in which you can tell, 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:00.400 you know, as as tragic as it us where he 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:02.840 lost his father last year, that it had just empowered 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:06.000 him even more with those ideals of making sure that 0:14:06.360 --> 0:14:09.920 you're connecting with your community and doing good work. Um, 0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:13.800 it's really touching and heartwarming. Packers have had some really 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:18.120 tremendous athletes come through here. You know. Aaron Rodgers himself 0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:20.320 in two thousand fourteen was a finalist for the Walter 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:22.680 Payton Man of the Year And that finalist list is 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:27.360 only three and Aaron, Aaron Rodgers came. Aaron Rodgers was 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:31.280 in that final three back. So you know, it's it's 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:33.680 gonna be difficult. It's always difficult. It's like the World Cup, right, 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:35.680 you know, there's only only three at the end of 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:38.240 this thing. But I really hope Aaron you know, he 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:40.840 plays a position that gets a little bit more notoriety. 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:42.960 He's a household name in a lot of ways, especially 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:45.440 in the fantasy football realm. It would be great to 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:47.880 see people really hear his message. Hopefully you and I 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:49.760 can do our best to amplify that in our video 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:52.800 department over the next month, because it's not just about 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:56.200 him getting that recognitions, about what that recognition represents in 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:59.120 the charitable stuff that goes along with it. Shoot, you 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:03.400 can retweet his stuff on Twitter with his with his hashtag. 0:15:03.440 --> 0:15:05.000 I wish I remember that off the top of my head, 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:07.520 but you know that can win him twenty five dollars 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:09.760 for his for his charities and his outreach stuff. So 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:11.960 it's a great thing that the NFL does, and there 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:15.480 is a reason why the NFL Honors ceremony. The last 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:18.200 award that has announced is the Walter Payton Man of 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:21.680 the Year. It is the pre pre eminent honor you 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:23.920 can receive in this league. Andrew Witworth getting it last 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:27.680 year deservingly so, so it'll be really fun and engaging 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:30.440 to see what these next few weeks and month hold 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:32.760 for for Aaron in that regard. Yeah, and if you 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:34.960 want to get a sense of what some other players 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:38.160 on the team are about in the community, there's series 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:40.840 of videos on packers dot com. We're in the my Cause, 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:45.280 My cleats time of year in the NFL and UH 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:49.640 a handful of players, including Matt Lafleur, head coach Matt Lafleur, 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:53.280 their videos on our website with them describing their causes 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:54.880 and you get to see kind of the pictures of 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:57.440 the shoes and and UH and stuff like that. So 0:15:57.520 --> 0:16:00.320 some some really good visuals and and some good views 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:02.920 there with some other off the field stuff as well. 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:07.280 Back on the field, I want to talk about some 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:09.720 of the results from this past weekend, and you hinted 0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:13.200 at a few of them. But even aside from the 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:16.960 quote unquote impact on on the Packers, on the Packers 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:21.760 playoff chase um, the Detroit Lions knocked off the NFC 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:25.000 North leading and one win away from clinching the division 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:29.280 Minnesota Vikings. So the Lions, the Lions are keeping themselves 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:31.200 right in the thick of the playoff rights. I think 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:33.760 this is really interesting with Detroit because this is what 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:38.240 I mentioned in Insider inbox on Monday. They had a big, 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:43.400 meaningful December home game for the first time probably since 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:47.560 the final game of the regular season when the Packers 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:51.359 were there, with a lot of playoff implications for both squads. 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:57.440 First home, meaningful December football game in a long time. 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:01.480 Now they they're there home, are brought it they wanted. 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:03.800 They knocked off the team that is that is leading 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:06.000 the NFC North. Now the Lions have to go out 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:08.440 on the road the next two weeks for these meaningful 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:11.680 December football games against the New York Jets this coming week, 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:14.119 which is another team that's right in the in the 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:16.000 thick of the wild card chase in the a f C. 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:20.520 This will be really really interesting to see. And we 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:22.960 know that the Detroit Lions are coming to lambeau Field 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:27.000 in week eighteen, but the Lions, the Lions have some 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:30.119 more games to win here to keep themselves in the 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:34.400 hunt and uh, and it'll be uh, it'll be fascinating 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:36.560 to see if Dan Campbell squad is up to the tag. 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:39.119 This is the team that I think I was anticipating 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:41.240 when you and I did all these offseason you know, 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:44.239 previews and like that. I actually, I think I might 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:46.240 even said on one of these unscripteds they seem to 0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:47.960 me like a nine and eight, eight and nine team, 0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:49.760 But they're the type of team that nobody's gonna want 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:55.359 to play. Yeah, and offensively, that offensive line, you know, 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:57.479 you look at this past weekend. It finally was on 0:17:57.600 --> 0:17:59.920 Jared Goff's arm to win that football game and he 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:04.359 did it. Um. Defensively, they've gotten better UM Minnesota for 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:06.800 all intensive purposes, and I don't mean to be disrespectful 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:09.439 to them, but they're a mess right now. Defensively, what 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:10.840 is it four or five games in a row with 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:14.399 five five games in a row. Minnesota's defense has allowed 0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:20.280 four hundred plus yards, which is a first in franchise history. Yeah, no, 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:23.880 they're not. Even Dennis Green was was having any of that. 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:29.120 The Vikings now they've you know, they're still games left 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:31.680 to play. The playoffs are the playoffs are still more 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:34.760 than a month away at this point. So so there's 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:37.520 always there's always time to shore things up, to get 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:39.640 things turned back in the right direction. But right now, 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:43.480 Minnesota's defense is a problem. They're not stopping anybody. The 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:47.080 Detroit Lions. Other than the fake punt, the Detroit Lions 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:50.760 did not do anything tricky or fancy any respect. They 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:53.480 just moved the ball up and down the field against Minnesota, 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:56.880 and that has to have the Vikings concerned. And the 0:18:57.160 --> 0:19:00.240 you know, much maligned Detroit defense that we heard about 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:03.199 when the Packers played them, held Delvin Cook to fifteen 0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:06.480 carries for twenty three yards in that match. They shut 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:08.040 out they shut down the run, and that was the 0:19:08.040 --> 0:19:11.000 biggest reason. That was the biggest reason the Packers couldn't 0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:13.320 do anything at Ford Field is because they couldn't get 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:15.920 the running game going and uh and the passing game 0:19:15.960 --> 0:19:18.040 was was just out of sync for a number of reasons. 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:19.960 For as much as people want a dog on Kirk 0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:23.160 Cousins in Minnesota, the best thing that the Vikings happened 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:25.680 for them right now is Cousins and Justin Jefferson. Those 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:28.600 guys are playing some fantastic football. That's the reason this. 0:19:28.840 --> 0:19:30.800 You know, they got to where they got in this game. 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:34.720 You know, I'm Vikings are up for a gut check. Man. 0:19:34.800 --> 0:19:37.600 It is fascinating, Mike. We talked about it about, you know, 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:40.479 the Lions being favored going into this game, and Detroit 0:19:40.520 --> 0:19:42.960 proved it again. Man. Fortunately for the Packers that game 0:19:43.000 --> 0:19:44.800 is at lambeau Field, because I tell you what, there 0:19:44.840 --> 0:19:46.880 are no teams right now in the National Football League 0:19:46.920 --> 0:19:48.480 that I think I have any interest in playing the 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:51.240 Lions at Ford Field. It's really interesting how this season 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:54.080 has played out because it was a it was the 0:19:54.160 --> 0:19:56.679 win over the Packers that seemed to jump start the 0:19:56.680 --> 0:19:59.560 Detroit Lions. Might say, job, you don't know it was 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:01.880 in a lot of respects. It was the win over 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:04.760 the Packers that jump started the Washington Commanders and Taylor 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:07.960 Heineke and getting that team, uh, you know in the 0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:11.359 wild card chase, which is another another squad that you know, 0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:16.600 Packers fans are monitoring their progress. But well, he's not 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:19.960 taking the starting job back from Taylor Heineke. But but 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:24.320 he's back, um. And we'd be remiss, of course, if 0:20:24.359 --> 0:20:27.480 we didn't mention what was going on in the nf 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:30.439 both the NFC West and the NFC South, the NFC 0:20:30.480 --> 0:20:34.520 West being, of course, Brock Purdy, the last pick in 0:20:34.560 --> 0:20:37.680 the NFL draft. I hate the title of Mr. Irrelevant, 0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:42.159 because I think that's incredibly insulting, especially two players who 0:20:42.200 --> 0:20:45.360 make great careers of themselves without being drafted at all. 0:20:46.160 --> 0:20:49.480 You know, but regardless, the last pick in the NFL 0:20:49.600 --> 0:20:54.479 draft wins a blowout against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:57.320 Tom Brady. Now, the Buccaneers are still in first place 0:20:57.320 --> 0:20:59.199 in the NFC South. But I gotta hand it to 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:01.800 you because you would asked me a week or two 0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:05.159 or so ago on this show whether the winner of 0:21:05.200 --> 0:21:07.800