Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford. Heat is the one and only
Speaker 1: West Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here from our studios
Speaker 1: at lambeau Field and West. As we head towards the
Speaker 1: middle of the week, the Packers have two games left
Speaker 1: in this season, heading to East Rutherford, New Jersey, this
Speaker 1: coming weekend to take on the Jets. A lot of talk,
Speaker 1: a lot of questions swirling around just how are the
Speaker 1: Packers going to play these last two games because there
Speaker 1: are no playoff hopes at stake. There will presumably be
Speaker 1: a new coaching staff next year in some way, shape
Speaker 1: or form. So does that mean Aaron Rodgers still plays
Speaker 1: or does he rest or do some of these other
Speaker 1: guys with you know, the big contracts and getting paid
Speaker 1: the big money, all that kind of stuff, do they play?
Speaker 1: Do you sit them? Joe Philbin addressed the media on
Speaker 1: Monday and basically said, Hey, this is professional football. It's
Speaker 1: all about taking a professional approach and finishing the season
Speaker 1: as pros because that's what we signed up to do. Now,
Speaker 1: health and all of that. If they're injury issues involved,
Speaker 1: that changes the equation. But it sounds like from what
Speaker 1: Joe Philbin said, the players who are healthy are going
Speaker 1: to play these last two games. Inside the Packers locker
Speaker 1: room on Monday, I thought David Botr had the quote
Speaker 1: of the day, quote of the hour when he said
Speaker 1: when he signed his contract back in two thousand and sixteen, now,
Speaker 1: he didn't sign it to play until you're eliminated from
Speaker 1: the playoffs, you know, twelve fourteen games. Whatever it might be,
Speaker 1: it's play for sixteen games now. Obviously there are existential
Speaker 1: circumstances that sometimes can knock a player out from doing that,
Speaker 1: but it's his full as he said, for everybody on
Speaker 1: this roster, it should be his full intention to play
Speaker 1: the string out. Now. There's a lot for the Packers
Speaker 1: to digest this week, and I'm sure a lot of
Speaker 1: this will be, you know, kind of hashed out during
Speaker 1: their Tuesday and Wednesday meetings with the coaching staff to
Speaker 1: figure out, Okay, who's going to be on the uplist,
Speaker 1: Who do you want to play? You have Kenny Clark
Speaker 1: dealing with the elbow injury, Brian blog and his knee, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, Aaron Rodgers. As we talked about the list
Speaker 1: of things that he's worked through this season to to
Speaker 1: start in all fourteen games. It's a position the Packers
Speaker 1: haven't been in before. Philbin talked about it, Mike McCarthy
Speaker 1: talked about it before he, you know, was let go.
Speaker 1: So I don't know what the right answer is. My
Speaker 1: personal opinion of it is if Rogers is good enough
Speaker 1: to play, to play him, because you look at what
Speaker 1: happened last year they were in the same exact position
Speaker 1: after Week fifteen, they were eliminated from the playoffs. Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 1: you know, Dr Pat mackenzie. They all knew the story
Speaker 1: with him. They knew whether or not it was good
Speaker 1: or not, if he should be out there if the
Speaker 1: games don't matter, and they acted accordingly. This is completely
Speaker 1: up to Rogers. It's wetly up to the training staff
Speaker 1: to know what his body's like right now in whether
Speaker 1: or not he should be out there. But if he
Speaker 1: is healthy enough to go, I think there's a huge
Speaker 1: benefit for the young receivers on this roster, the young
Speaker 1: players on this roster, to still have him out on
Speaker 1: the field. Yeah. I think the one caveat that you
Speaker 1: throw into the situation with Rogers is that he did
Speaker 1: say after the Bears game, and you could see it
Speaker 1: on a couple of scrambles that he wasn't running completely
Speaker 1: full speed. He said his groin tightened up on him
Speaker 1: a little bit, so he was trying to manage that
Speaker 1: and play through the game. We didn't really get an
Speaker 1: update on where things stand with that groin injury on Monday,
Speaker 1: and as you know West, sometimes with these injuries the
Speaker 1: day or two after the game, they can actually feel
Speaker 1: worse than they were during the game. So that would
Speaker 1: be the one thing I would say, if, if, if
Speaker 1: this is a more significant groin poll or strain or
Speaker 1: whatever you want to call it, then maybe met the
Speaker 1: eye on Sunday afternoon in Chicago when the season was
Speaker 1: still on the line, I could see the Packers certainly
Speaker 1: being very careful here. Um, but we just have to
Speaker 1: wait and see. Wednesday will be the first practice of
Speaker 1: the week, like it always is. We'll see what the
Speaker 1: injury report says. But but I'm with you, if Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers is healthy, he should play and uhum, and then
Speaker 1: you know you react accordingly as far as other guys,
Speaker 1: you know, do you want to see more snaps from
Speaker 1: the Jake Kumeros and the Robert tonyans of the world,
Speaker 1: guys who potentially could be in the lineup next year
Speaker 1: with Aaron Rodgers in more significant roles if they can
Speaker 1: make progress, make the roster again, that kind of thing.
Speaker 1: And again I don't think the Packers go like all
Speaker 1: preseason mode. You're certainly not gonna sit Davante Adams when
Speaker 1: he's on the verge of breaking potentially breaking a couple
Speaker 1: of franchise records here. But you could see the offense
Speaker 1: and defense for that matter. But but speaking about the
Speaker 1: offense with Rogers right now, you could see them trying
Speaker 1: to use these last couple of games to uh develop
Speaker 1: maybe a little bit of that chemistry that can take
Speaker 1: some time with younger players. And I even think about
Speaker 1: to like your Jamon Moore's guys who haven't played much
Speaker 1: at all this season, but I've been on the roster
Speaker 1: this entire way, uh, to potentially get some more looks.
Speaker 1: The biggest thing to me, I think it's ultimately going
Speaker 1: to be the indicator of who plays, specifically with those
Speaker 1: receiving corps. You know Randall Cobb, you know currently going
Speaker 1: through the concussion protocol, so you know, if he's unable
Speaker 1: to go depending on how everything works out or what
Speaker 1: the severity of it is. You know, that is where
Speaker 1: you know more Marcos, Velda, Scantling, Equanimia s Brown their
Speaker 1: thrust back into the limelight there. I really, from a
Speaker 1: historical perspective, someone that's appreciative of history, I'd love to
Speaker 1: see Rogers play these last two games because you see
Speaker 1: what Davante Adams has done through fourteen games, have a
Speaker 1: hundred catches over yards, twelve touchdowns. Uh well, on his
Speaker 1: way right now as it stands, to breaking that franchise
Speaker 1: record for single season receptions currently held by Sterling Sharp
Speaker 1: at hundred and twelve. So you know, a couple of
Speaker 1: solid performances there. You know, the thing that's intriguing about
Speaker 1: Adams is he's done it with anybody. You know, he
Speaker 1: was successful with Brett Hunley. You know, he's he's versatile
Speaker 1: enough that his skill set applies to anybody. But at
Speaker 1: the same time, to see Rogers and having your number
Speaker 1: one quarterback people to go to the distance with you,
Speaker 1: I think that'd be kind of cool. Yeah, I totally
Speaker 1: agree with you there, and uh um, as far as
Speaker 1: the defensive side of the ball goes, you know, the
Speaker 1: Packers went into this game in Chicago on Sunday, Mike
Speaker 1: Daniels is already on injured reserve, and then it was
Speaker 1: determined Kenny Clark would be inactive and unable to go.
Speaker 1: I'll tell you west, when I saw that ninety minutes
Speaker 1: before kickoff, my heart sunk a little bit because I
Speaker 1: just I wasn't sure how the Packers would be able
Speaker 1: to hold up against that Bears running game with Howard
Speaker 1: and Cohen and everything they like to do upfront. But um,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you what hats off to some of these
Speaker 1: young guys, and I'll say Dean Lowry first because he
Speaker 1: was kind of the veteran in that defensive line group.
Speaker 1: But these younger guys who now got thrust into much,
Speaker 1: much bigger roles, and I'm talking about Tyler Lancaster, Fidel Brown, um,
Speaker 1: Montravius Adams. They for the Bears did not control the
Speaker 1: game with their ground game, and I think that's a
Speaker 1: credit to these young defensive linemen who who really stepped
Speaker 1: up and showed with their made up I want to
Speaker 1: start with Dean Lowery because I think one of the
Speaker 1: he's such a easy going, straight forward personality type that
Speaker 1: he doesn't get a lot of attention, especially this year
Speaker 1: when they brought in Mohammed Wilkerson. You have Mike Daniels
Speaker 1: and Kenny Clark's coming to his own. But you gotta
Speaker 1: remember back to September Mike, Dean Lowry wasn't playing much
Speaker 1: at all with how that rotation was going and Clark
Speaker 1: both on the field. I want to say Dean lower
Speaker 1: is playing somewhere around the defensive snaps like through the
Speaker 1: first four games, our first three games going into Washington,
Speaker 1: what he did down the stretch here, He's again come
Speaker 1: on again like he did last year in the month
Speaker 1: of December. He believe has three sacks now on the season,
Speaker 1: played fifty three of the sixty defensive snaps against you know,
Speaker 1: the Bears in this contest. Being the guy that you
Speaker 1: know played at Northern Illinois. Northwestern had been from Illinois,
Speaker 1: you have to imagine that was kind of special. I
Speaker 1: know he had a lot of friends and family there. Uh, yes,
Speaker 1: you're right, there are some really young talented guys that
Speaker 1: stepped up, but I thought that started with Dean Lowry.
Speaker 1: He didn't get very He had seven breathers the entire game,
Speaker 1: and for him to go the distance playing over the
Speaker 1: defensive snaps, I thought said a lot about him, and
Speaker 1: then you look at what Tyler Lancaster has done, his
Speaker 1: fellow Northwestern alumnus, this guy considered he was a practice
Speaker 1: squad guy. Know you and I both talked about it
Speaker 1: during the offseason. We felt like he was one of
Speaker 1: the gems that undrafted class. But the fact of the
Speaker 1: matter was he did start the season on the practice squad.
Speaker 1: For him to have to be basically an every down
Speaker 1: nose tackle for them in that game, specifically without Kenny Clark,
Speaker 1: and ended up with the career high seven tackles, I
Speaker 1: think that said a lot about him too, and what
Speaker 1: they were able to do against that Bears running game. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I broke down a lot of the film on defense,
Speaker 1: and for those who want to check out a handful
Speaker 1: of plays, my what you Might Have Missed feature is
Speaker 1: um up on our website. I highlighted about a half
Speaker 1: a dozen plays involving Lancaster and Montrevius Adams, some of
Speaker 1: which I saw during the game, but others that stood
Speaker 1: out to me later. One particularly with with Adams um
Speaker 1: if you remember the shovel pass to Trey Burton where
Speaker 1: he only got about five yards. I believe it was
Speaker 1: on first and ten. If you look at that on
Speaker 1: film Montravius Adams is that he starts to get shoved
Speaker 1: the wrong way, he spins out of the block and
Speaker 1: then is able to come back around and tackle Burton
Speaker 1: when he probably gets at least nine or ten yards
Speaker 1: on that play because because Adams ended up being the
Speaker 1: first guy to get him there. So it's things like that. Now, Granted,
Speaker 1: you know a player like Montrevius Adams needs to take
Speaker 1: a play like that and do it all the time.
Speaker 1: That's how you become a Kenny Clark or a Mike
Speaker 1: Daniels and and take your game to the next level.
Speaker 1: But when you see that stuff on film from a
Speaker 1: young player, it's really really encouraging. And what I liked
Speaker 1: in terms of Tyler Lancaster, I tell you what I know,
Speaker 1: he's not much of a pass rusher, but boy, against
Speaker 1: the run, especially playing the nose, like right on the center,
Speaker 1: he has a he has a way to just stick
Speaker 1: out that left arm and keep that separation so that
Speaker 1: he can see the ball and then you know, and
Speaker 1: then make the move to get off the block. That's
Speaker 1: that's really impressive, especially for especially for a young guy.
Speaker 1: As you said, he was undrafted, started the season on
Speaker 1: the practice squad. This is a guy who's really who's
Speaker 1: really really come along, and I think he's got a
Speaker 1: chance to to be a future mainstay on that defensive
Speaker 1: line for Green Bay. What's been my nickname for him
Speaker 1: since he got here, going back to the spring. Do
Speaker 1: you remember what I've called him? I mean just the
Speaker 1: way that he's built, the way he plays the position.
Speaker 1: You know, there's two types of players I've always said
Speaker 1: this that I think are draftable type players. But you
Speaker 1: often see leaking into college free agency. There your your
Speaker 1: four year starting guards because everybody's chasing the tackles and
Speaker 1: everybody likes their centers, but the guards sometimes will slips
Speaker 1: through the cracks. I think that's how you see a
Speaker 1: guy like Lane Taylor succeed the way he has in
Speaker 1: Green Bay. There's no question my mind, Lane Taylor should
Speaker 1: have been among the sixty one whatever it was offensive
Speaker 1: lineman taken in that draft. He wasn't. And I think
Speaker 1: it's nose like run defending nose tackles the league for
Speaker 1: whatever reason, and I get it, it's not it's not
Speaker 1: an attractive pick. You don't draft a nose tackle. You
Speaker 1: know that that is, you know, run base and go, Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's what our fan base is going to rally around.
Speaker 1: I get that. But and the more I watched Tyler Lancaster,
Speaker 1: the more I think it's a travesty. He didn't get
Speaker 1: drafted just because I'm not saying I'm not trying to
Speaker 1: make him out that he's gonna be the next Reggie
Speaker 1: White or anything, But I just he looks the part.
Speaker 1: He's intelligent, and he's powerful, and I don't think people
Speaker 1: can fully appreciate how difficult it is for an undrafted
Speaker 1: rookie to be able to get off blocks and get
Speaker 1: arms separation from starting NFL guards and interior linement in
Speaker 1: this league, it's not easy. And when you look at
Speaker 1: the path that they've had the last couple of weeks
Speaker 1: and some of the interior lineman I've seen Alex mac
Speaker 1: a week ago with Atlanta UM, there are some really
Speaker 1: talented guys out there, and for for Lancaster to step
Speaker 1: up into that role without Kenny Clark, you know, we're
Speaker 1: gonna have to see what this defensive front looks like
Speaker 1: next year. Who's going to be back. But I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, Clark and Lawry are going to be again
Speaker 1: one of your centerpieces. I just think that Lancaster, what
Speaker 1: he's shown during this last you know, half of the season,
Speaker 1: proves that he should be thought about in that rotation. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think. I think the fact that he wasn't drafted
Speaker 1: really doesn't necessarily so much speak to him as to
Speaker 1: what all the scouts and everybody are after, which is
Speaker 1: which is pass rushers and the ability to get after
Speaker 1: the passer. And Lancaster hasn't gotten his game to that
Speaker 1: point yet where he's a consistent pass rusher, but you
Speaker 1: said it was he's powerful, which means that opportunity is
Speaker 1: there for him to add that to his game as
Speaker 1: he continues to grow into a very big, strong and
Speaker 1: powerful body. And I'll point out as well with Fidel Brown,
Speaker 1: I know you mentioned yesterday the play that he made
Speaker 1: on the third and short run with the number three
Speaker 1: running back for the Bears. When I looked at that
Speaker 1: on film, he actually kind of caught a break there
Speaker 1: because they kind of forgot to block him. But what
Speaker 1: I didn't what I what I had neglected to see,
Speaker 1: and one of our insider inbox readers pointed this out,
Speaker 1: is on the wildcat shotgun play that where Cohen fumbled.
Speaker 1: The exchange with Howard Brown actually splits two guys and
Speaker 1: is the one who I think kind of started and
Speaker 1: that's what so it doesn't go down as a forced
Speaker 1: fumble for number ninety eight there for a young defensive lineman,
Speaker 1: but in essence, he forced that fumble. You combine that
Speaker 1: with the stop that he made on the fake punt
Speaker 1: and everything. Another young defensive lineman who's saying kind of
Speaker 1: raising his hand and saying, hey, I want to stick
Speaker 1: around here for a while, you know, make sure you
Speaker 1: take a look at me too. I don't get I
Speaker 1: don't want to. I'm not trying to be controversial here,
Speaker 1: but like I was gonna say, I don't get why
Speaker 1: the Raiders released him, but I mean, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of moves there I don't quite understand that the Raiders
Speaker 1: have made. I didn't want to make too big of
Speaker 1: a joke out of that. But Brown is a young
Speaker 1: guy and he's lengthy. Uh I was. I was talking
Speaker 1: to Dean Laurie about him after the game and just
Speaker 1: what sort of stuck out to him. Now, he couldn't
Speaker 1: comment specifically on Brown's game because they're basically playing two
Speaker 1: opposite positions when they're in their base front. But he said,
Speaker 1: the thing that stuck stood out to him in the
Speaker 1: first to practice weeks that he's been in Green Bay
Speaker 1: is his twitch. Uh. He has some good twitch to
Speaker 1: him and he has some pretty long arms. So when
Speaker 1: you're able to get that kind of jump and you're
Speaker 1: able to be able to to keep defender or offensive
Speaker 1: lineman off of you, good things are going to happen. So, uh,
Speaker 1: he's another young man too that you know, when you
Speaker 1: get these expanded rosters for these teams that aren't in
Speaker 1: the playoff hunt, that you start seeing guys go on
Speaker 1: I are a little bit more. One of the things
Speaker 1: that a byproduct of all of that is that you
Speaker 1: start to see some of these young guys that, hey,
Speaker 1: you might want to take a look at this offseason.
Speaker 1: When are you getting a chance to get some snaps
Speaker 1: on him right now? And I thought, for what that
Speaker 1: for what you said originally for where your your gut
Speaker 1: kind of dropped a little bit when you saw that
Speaker 1: Kenny Clark was out three point three yards per carry,
Speaker 1: not making life easier on them. The bigger plays Cohen
Speaker 1: made were as a pass catcher and as a returner.
Speaker 1: As far as the run game was concerned, the Packers
Speaker 1: were pretty stout. I really thought, I really thought the
Speaker 1: Packers only had two bad plays against the run that
Speaker 1: entire game. The nine yard touched on run by Howard, Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, right up the middle, and that was way
Speaker 1: too easy. And then um, towards the believe it was
Speaker 1: towards the end of the first half, Cohen busted a
Speaker 1: twenty two yard twenty plus yard run. Other than those two,
Speaker 1: I mean the other eighteen or nineteen however many carries.
Speaker 1: It was that that Cohen and and Howard combined. For
Speaker 1: I I thought the Packers held up really well. And
Speaker 1: if you had said that to me, you know, at kickoff,
Speaker 1: knowing that Daniels is out, and then Clark ninety minutes
Speaker 1: before kickoff was announced as as inactive, I would have thought, uh,
Speaker 1: the defense against the run would have had a much
Speaker 1: tougher day. So I tipped my hat to him. I
Speaker 1: want to mention one more thing, Michael, before we move
Speaker 1: on from the defensive front. We're talking to Kenny Clark
Speaker 1: in the locker room on Monday. You know, he was
Speaker 1: asked about what the prognosis is going to be for
Speaker 1: him with that elbow injury, if he'll be able to
Speaker 1: come back. He feels like he's good to come back.
Speaker 1: With the training staff doctors exercising some caution there because
Speaker 1: of the risk of him possibly re injuring it. We're
Speaker 1: gonna have to see how these next two weeks plays out.
Speaker 1: He did not disqualify himself from potentially playing again this season,
Speaker 1: but a part of me it it kind of sucks
Speaker 1: to see that because fifty five tackles, six sacks, three
Speaker 1: pass deflections at his position, playing of the snaps or
Speaker 1: whatever it was going into Sunday later tonight on Tuesday,
Speaker 1: as the time we're taping this, we're gonna get the
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl announcements. I don't know whether or not Kenny
Speaker 1: Clark is going to be a part of that, but
Speaker 1: he really deserves it for a nose tackle. He's not
Speaker 1: Aaron Donald. I'm not trying to put him in that
Speaker 1: same category. There's levels to this game. I get it,
Speaker 1: he's still only twenty three. He has some room to
Speaker 1: grow yet. But for what he did for this defense
Speaker 1: this here, I don't think there's any way you can
Speaker 1: make an argument that he isn't the defensive player or
Speaker 1: the defensive m VP for this team this season. How
Speaker 1: consistent he was, how accountable he was, and how durable
Speaker 1: he was. It's incredible what Kenny Clark put on film
Speaker 1: this season. I think there's no question about that. I
Speaker 1: think he's been the best defensive player the Packers have
Speaker 1: had in eighteen. Quickly before I forget Packers fans, be
Speaker 1: sure to stop in at your local quick Trip and
Speaker 1: pick up your Packers cup today. Nine cent refills on
Speaker 1: your Cafe Careba coffee all season long. Alright, West, We
Speaker 1: ended yesterday's show talking a little bit about that Monday
Speaker 1: night game Saints and Panthers. It ends up a twelve
Speaker 1: nine victory for the New Orleans Saints, but but a
Speaker 1: but a final score that didn't really indicate what kind
Speaker 1: of game it was, because both of these teams were
Speaker 1: moving the ball and getting in scoring position and having
Speaker 1: opportunities to score, and then they kept turning the ball over,
Speaker 1: so the score, the score of the games stayed low.
Speaker 1: You end up the Panthers end up getting two points
Speaker 1: by running an interception back for two on when the
Speaker 1: Saints were going for two. Just a weird game the
Speaker 1: way it played out. But the bottom line is the
Speaker 1: New Orleans Saints are absolutely in the driver's seat in
Speaker 1: the NFC. Now. You can't put any style points on it,
Speaker 1: but you're on the road. You're taking on a team
Speaker 1: that has Christian McCaffrey. You know how explosive offense can
Speaker 1: be when cants going. Do you take the wins that
Speaker 1: you can get them? I tell you what, though, the
Speaker 1: one thing that this game taught me um And and
Speaker 1: I don't you know, Sean Payton. They've gotten their team
Speaker 1: to where they need to get to. They don't need
Speaker 1: Wes Hogwitz as help. But as they look to build
Speaker 1: now some momentum for the playoffs and I'm sure trying
Speaker 1: to get their offense a little bit more on track
Speaker 1: in terms of their explosiveness, I just think Alvin Kamar
Speaker 1: is a guy that should be touching the ball five
Speaker 1: times a game at this point. I just I think
Speaker 1: he is the biggest playmaker. I know they have some
Speaker 1: good ones. Michael Thomas is excellent, mark Ingram is a
Speaker 1: great counter punch, but Alvin Kamara is special. And I
Speaker 1: know he was a guy that you looked at in
Speaker 1: the draft over a year ago now, but I just
Speaker 1: when I see him play and when he touches the ball,
Speaker 1: it's like Buzz Williams always just talking about paint touches
Speaker 1: right at Marquette. If you get the ball in the paint,
Speaker 1: the percentage of what what you can do and where
Speaker 1: your points are going to be scored increases exponentially. I
Speaker 1: think Kamar is the same way. If you get him
Speaker 1: the ball three or four times a series, good things
Speaker 1: are gonna happen. It's gonna be tough now for the NFC.
Speaker 1: H And I'll tell you what, just from a pure
Speaker 1: football standpoint, I would I honestly would love to see
Speaker 1: the Bears in that defense matchup with the Saints at
Speaker 1: some point in the postseason. I think I think that
Speaker 1: would be Yep, I think that would be the I
Speaker 1: think that would be the playoff matchup in the NFC
Speaker 1: that people would like to see that that hasn't been
Speaker 1: seen yet. I mean, I think the Rams and the
Speaker 1: Saints certainly have an opportunity to meet in the postseason.
Speaker 1: We did see that in the regular season and it
Speaker 1: turned into quite the shootout game at the super Dome.
Speaker 1: So maybe maybe there's a rematch. Uh, maybe there's a
Speaker 1: rematch there involved as well. But I'll say this about
Speaker 1: the Saints, with the type of team they have. You
Speaker 1: go on the road on Monday Night football against a
Speaker 1: team that's playing that it's season is basically on the line,
Speaker 1: because the Panthers needed to get back to seven and
Speaker 1: seven to stay in this thing, to come out of
Speaker 1: there with a victory. And when at twelve to nine,
Speaker 1: in a somewhat unconventional way, when teams like that late
Speaker 1: in the season west, when they start finding ways to
Speaker 1: win games in different ways that maybe you don't think
Speaker 1: they would win that way. The stat was put up.
Speaker 1: I believe at the end of the game that it's
Speaker 1: the first time the New Orleans Saints have won a
Speaker 1: game with twelve points are less on the board since
Speaker 1: twenty years since they've done that. That's the kind of
Speaker 1: thing that jumps out to me is a sign like, Okay,
Speaker 1: look out now, because because these guys don't have to
Speaker 1: win a game just one way with just a certain style,
Speaker 1: they can play their way, they can play your way,
Speaker 1: and they can beat you. I'm glad you brought up
Speaker 1: that point as we closed the show here, because was
Speaker 1: as good as their offenses and as good as some
Speaker 1: of those Packers offenses were over there is what did
Speaker 1: Dom Capers always say? It was stopping the run. The
Speaker 1: Saints defense is not perfect, but the fact that they
Speaker 1: are leading the league right now in in opponising run
Speaker 1: offense holding right now seventy nine point one yards per game.
Speaker 1: That's uh four points better than the Bears and number
Speaker 1: two right now, that's what gives you a chance because
Speaker 1: if you disrupt teams run patterns and you get them
Speaker 1: into a shootout situation. I like your chances with Drew
Speaker 1: Brees at quarterback, and to me, since two thousand nine,
Speaker 1: this is the most perfect team that they've had. You're
Speaker 1: always chasing perfection. You're never gonna change, but it's it's
Speaker 1: a really intriguing group of guys. Yeah, and I said
Speaker 1: it last year. I take nothing away from the Eagles
Speaker 1: and what they accomplished, but I thought in the postseason
Speaker 1: last year, I thought the Saints were the best team
Speaker 1: and I thought they were going to win the whole thing,
Speaker 1: and I think they would have if not for the
Speaker 1: Minneapolis miracle. And all they've done is pick up where
Speaker 1: they left off, because I think they've been the best
Speaker 1: team in the NFC, if not the entire NFL all
Speaker 1: year this year, at just the way I felt about
Speaker 1: them last January, there's been nothing that's changed my mind.
Speaker 1: I Mean, they're special and it's gonna be fun to
Speaker 1: watch her see what they can do. They gotta get
Speaker 1: it done though. I Mean that's the other thing too.
Speaker 1: With the resources they've invested in this year's team, there
Speaker 1: is some pressure there to win this thing. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: With that, we'll call it a wrap on this edition
Speaker 1: of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our
Speaker 1: coverage of the team on Packers dot com, on Twitter
Speaker 1: at west Hodd at, Mike Spofford at Packers for the
Speaker 1: team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, See you next time.