WEBVTT - #485 Packers Unscripted: Wrapping up the week 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:14.480 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:17.840 I am Mike Spofford, joined by my trusted colleague West 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:20.720 hod Kuwitz. We're coming to you here from our studios 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:23.400 at lambau Field West. It's Friday, our final show of 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:26.319 the week, and that means we talk about keys to 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:29.600 victory for the Green Bay Packers. They will play the 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:33.640 Washington Redskins on Sunday at lambou Field a noon Central 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:36.840 time kickoff. I think you and I are both headed 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:40.080 in the same direction with where we're starting this conversation, 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:45.480 So go, it's gonna be spoiler alert, shocker, Hold onto 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:50.720 your seats. The run game will decide the victor in 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:53.280 this matchup, Okay, but it does go both ways, right 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:57.360 Bill Callahan, You know when you heard Mike Petton discuss 0:00:57.440 --> 0:00:59.720 it on Thursday evening, Matt la Floor touched on it. 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:02.880 He wants to run the football. That's the way it 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:06.520 tried and true from the very beginning. That's his philosophy 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:08.760 and it's the reason why he was ultimately picked as 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:11.759 the interim head coach here. He had the experience and 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:14.720 this is honestly what is allowed Washington to have the 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:18.440 most success they've had all season as of late, and 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:20.400 they have two really good backs. Now we got to 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:22.360 see exactly what's going on with Adrian Peterson and this 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:25.320 toe injury. Yeah, he popped up on the injury report. Yeah, 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:28.839 he didn't practice on Thursday, was a full participant presumably 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:30.600 on Wednesday. So we got to see where that's at. 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:32.520 But Darius Guice to get him back, and that was 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:35.280 one of the questions I asked Callahan on Wednesday how 0:01:35.319 --> 0:01:37.920 important that was for this offense because this is a 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:39.840 guy from the very beginning, as I said, going back 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:42.520 to last year, before the knee injury, before some of 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:44.759 the things that he's had to overcome, he was considered 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:47.480 one of the top prospects in that draft class and 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:49.880 a guy that Washington was really excited about to build 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:51.640 their backfield around. There was a reason why for a 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.960 number of years people weren't really sure what Adrian Peterson's 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.520 role was going to be because Geiss was presumably the 0:01:57.560 --> 0:01:59.800 bell cow, the number one back. Well, now they found 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:02.200 and fell into a spot where they were using both 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:04.080 from last week, and I felt like that gave them 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:06.840 their truest identity. So what does that mean for the Packers. 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:09.480 That means you have to stop them, whether it's guys, 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:12.280 whether it's Peterson, or a combination of both. That is 0:02:12.320 --> 0:02:15.800 where this all begins for the Packers defensive front, Kenny Clark, 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:18.880 Dean Lowry, like Martinez, all of those guys working together 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:22.040 in tandem. Because on paper, yeah, it's been an up 0:02:22.040 --> 0:02:24.359 and down season for the Packers against the run. They 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:26.639 have to make a statement this game because last week, 0:02:26.680 --> 0:02:28.880 Mike I felt like, for the most part, they did 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:31.359 just that against a really dangerous sake Kuon Barkley. Yeah, 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:33.520 I thought the Packers did all right against Barkley. I mean, 0:02:33.600 --> 0:02:36.320 did they completely shut him down. No, But the way 0:02:36.440 --> 0:02:40.359 that the conditions in that game, the way the Giants 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:42.880 certainly wanted to get that running game going, the fact 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:45.480 that Barkley had only four point four yards per carry, 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:48.200 didn't have any of those backbreaking type of runs. That 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:51.200 was a pretty solid performance against a really good running back. 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:54.560 My question for you with regard to this one now, when, 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:57.840 as Matt Lafleur I believe he said it earlier this week, 0:02:57.840 --> 0:02:59.880 the Redskins are going to come off the bus, wanted 0:02:59.880 --> 0:03:02.360 to run the ball. There they are. They are going 0:03:02.440 --> 0:03:05.600 to try to pound the Packers with the run in 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:10.839 this game on Sunday with guys and Peterson schematically, how 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:14.760 much of the true three four base defense do you 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:17.920 think we'll see and by that I mean three down lineman, 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:22.040 two outside linebackers, you know, a full five man defensive front. 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:24.280 How much do you think Mike Petton goes to that 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:27.680 schematically here against this one too, punch of Washington. It 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:30.800 depends on the first quarter goes because they do actually 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:34.600 have a modification a variant of that base where they 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:38.600 can use is Abraham Campbell almost at Isaiah Ibrahem Campbell 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:40.800 as that other linebacker too. We saw it two weeks 0:03:40.800 --> 0:03:43.960 ago against San Francisco. That's how they started the game 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:46.920 against a run heavy team, Campbell as the linebacker, but 0:03:47.000 --> 0:03:50.040 yet still a five man front, so they I think 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:51.760 a lot of it's gonna be okay, not only how 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:54.120 you're defending the run, but how are you matching up 0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:57.000 with Terry McLaurin. How are you being able to you know, 0:03:57.040 --> 0:03:59.000 eliminate some of the threats that are there. I mean, 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:01.640 there's a real possible city, Mike, depending on how this 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:04.720 injury port shakes out for Washington, they could start three 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:08.040 rookie receivers in this football game, that's a real possibility. 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:10.720 They're down their top two tight ends due to concussions. 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:13.880 Those perimeter weapons need to be held in check, and 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:15.800 I think that is going to be the tried and 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:18.159 true test of how they can defend this team because 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:21.640 in a traditional sense, this appears like a base three 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:24.640 four from the first quarter to the fourth. But if 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:27.359 McLaurin is being able to hit some explosive, if the 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:31.000 safeties aren't able to you know, contain that, well, then 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:33.120 that's when you have to start shifting to your sub packages. 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:35.920 So I really think that first fifteen minutes and how 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:37.520 you stack up against it. I thought one of the 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:41.440 real understated parts of that game against the Giants was, Yeah, 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:44.120 they weren't able to run in the first quarter, they 0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:46.919 did hold Barclay back and that's what allowed them to 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:49.279 win some of those three and ounce early on. You 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:51.599 need to be able to do that against Washington because, 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:54.080 as I mentioned in a final thoughts video, we shot 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:56.400 moments ago and one of our other mediums we just 0:04:56.440 --> 0:05:01.000 got our stocking caps taken off inside they are able 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:03.960 to run the ball. That is the number one best friend, 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:07.479 Dwayne Haskins right now, it's gonna be what he's gonna need. Yeah, 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:09.360 I mean, we've been talking about it all week long 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:12.440 that the Packers defensively, you've got to put this game 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:14.680 in the rookie quarterback's hands. You've got to make sure 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:18.039 he doesn't have that best friend that he can rely upon. 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:21.160 Now with Haskins, I'll give him credit. He's he's had 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:25.040 four starts. He's essentially played five games because one of 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.760 the games that he didn't start, he played a good 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:32.119 chunk of it. So in essence, five games, he's taking 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:35.719 care of the football. Okay, certainly compared to Daniel Jones 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:39.080 and and even Kyle Allen to a certain extent, he 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:41.880 only has, I believe it's a half dozen interceptions, only 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:45.000 one lost fumble, So he hasn't been this turnover machine 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:49.080 as a rookie quarterback. But in those five games, essentially 0:05:49.080 --> 0:05:51.760 five games he's played, he's been sacked twenty two times, 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:58.600 three drop backs. So defense, defensively, that's the Packers would 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:00.479 love to be able to get after of the rookie 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:03.520 quarterback and make things difficult for him. But to get 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:06.400 to that point, you can't let Peterson and guys get going. 0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:10.680 You have to shift the responsibility to the quarterback for 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:13.919 Washington be able to move the ball, while Washington's goal 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:15.400 is going to be the other way. They're gonna be 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:19.200 trying to limit the responsibility on the rookie quarterback for 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:22.960 the offensive success. Former Packers defensive line coach Mike Turkovac, 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:24.480 and it says something to me. I remember it was 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:26.920 in two thousand thirteen or twelve, like maybe my first 0:06:26.960 --> 0:06:29.000 year even on the beat, and it was, you know, 0:06:29.040 --> 0:06:32.400 we make so much out of man versus zone coverage 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:34.479 and all these things that we just kind of, you know, 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:36.760 we always rattle them off, and it's just part of 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:39.200 the lexicon when it comes to football. One of the 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:42.000 things very few people talk about is in the defensive front, 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:45.039 whether or not your defensive lineman can jet rush, and 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:47.880 what the risk and reward is of jet rushing with 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:50.560 your defensive lineman, because if you send a guy like 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:53.960 Kenny Clark who has that capability, that can potentially expose 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:56.520 you other places. That's why it's so critical to stop 0:06:56.520 --> 0:07:00.200 the run here because if you can that allow is 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:02.880 Mike Petton and Jerry Montgomery that allows them to open 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:05.479 up the playbook a little bit, because if you look 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:08.520 at the games where Haskins has succeeded, it's because he 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:11.400 gets the time to scan the field. As a rookie quarterback, 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:14.560 he needs that extra millisecond to be able to process 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:17.200 everything that's going on. If you get pressure coming from 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:20.760 the outside and you collapse the pocket up front, that's 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:23.160 when the internal clock starts to speed up, and that's 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:26.080 when guys start to make mistakes. That is what I 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:28.000 think is critical because as much as people are gonna 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:30.120 just say, well, it's Preston Smith versus old team and 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:33.720 Zadarius Smith has twenty quarterback hits and those are the 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:36.720 two one, two primary options. No, I mean, as some 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:38.120 of the things you and I have discussed this week, 0:07:38.120 --> 0:07:41.320 and you've articulated yourself, it's a lot on Dean Lowry 0:07:41.360 --> 0:07:44.400 and Kenny Clark and that defensive line this week, how 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:47.200 they defend, how they hold their gaps, but also how 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:50.520 they're able to push that front. Because it's been a 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:53.960 really difficult year for Washington, but they still have some 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:57.200 guys there. They've made some investments to make sure that 0:07:57.240 --> 0:07:59.520 they can actually get the protection they need for Haskins. 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:01.920 That is the number one chess piece, and I'm really 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:04.920 intrigued to watch once the game gets started on Sunday. Yeah. Well, 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:06.960 on the offensive side of the ball, the Packers would 0:08:07.000 --> 0:08:09.520 certainly like to get their running game going as well. 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:12.080 Matt Lafleur talked about it. The Packers did not run 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:14.400 the ball as well as they had hoped last week 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:18.520 against the Giants. La Fleur said he actually put the 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:21.760 offense in some bad situations as far as personnel packages 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:24.640 and still trying to run. The Giants did have a 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:27.360 pretty tough front against the run. You give them credit there. 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:30.080 I know a lot. There's there's a lot of talk 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:33.319 outside the building west about getting Aaron Jones more involved 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:34.880 in all this kind of stuff as far as the 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:38.839 running game specifically goes. I honestly don't care whether it's 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:42.680 Aaron Jones or Jamal Williams, whichever guy is producing, but 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.559 the Packers need to get that running game going because 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:48.319 so much, so much of the rhythm and so much 0:08:48.360 --> 0:08:51.480 of the production that we've seen from this offense in 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:54.520 twenty nineteen has come from the play action when the 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:57.920 running game is working. So I don't really plays last 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:00.280 week even when the running game wasn't working. I mean 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:02.600 early on. They had some nice runs in the first 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:04.720 half and then the play action passes came off of it, 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:06.360 and then in the second half it got to be 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:08.319 a little bit more of a struggle there to run 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:10.920 the football. So whatever it takes to run it, whichever 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:13.640 back it is, and maybe because of the weather, Jamal 0:09:13.679 --> 0:09:15.880 Williams more of the bruiser, the power guy in the 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:18.800 cold weather. Whatever it takes, the Packers have got to 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:21.960 find a way to uh to run the football. You 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:23.960 want to get that going here in December for the 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:26.920 stretch runs. So I have to add this Mike spotted 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:29.360 caveat to this because at the time we take this, 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:32.679 we haven't gone to practice on Friday. Jamal Williams was 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:35.840 listed as a as a limited participant in Thursday's practice. 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:38.120 Now was that being mindful of his workload with the 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:40.679 knee injury or did something happen that we don't know 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:43.120 right now? So I want to be careful with that 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:46.040 in case this doesn't age well. But be that as 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:47.599 it may. He was in the locker room yesterday. You 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:50.959 would hope and presume everything's okay. But the original points 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:54.679 stands is firm and true. It is Aaron Jones and 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:57.280 Jamal Williams in tandem. How you use those two guys 0:09:57.360 --> 0:09:59.880 and how they're able to be effective. What I'm looking 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.760 for in this game particularly is they're going up against 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:06.280 the ranked run defense that has been really up and 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:07.880 down from the Moss here. Now they do have Ryan 0:10:07.920 --> 0:10:10.560 Carrigan back, they have some of those guys that are there, 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:13.360 they're stalwarts up front, so that certainly would change things. 0:10:14.000 --> 0:10:18.040 But it's just so it's so incredible how much different 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:22.040 this offense looks when Aaron Jones is going off, when 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:24.280 he is making the big place and the one thing 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:26.640 we still haven't really seen yet in week fourteen is 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:30.840 that's sixty yard breakthrough run. I mean, he has that 0:10:30.880 --> 0:10:32.839 capability on every play and at this point he still 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:35.280 as long as carries only twenty eight yards. That could 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:38.640 happen this Sunday, It could happen next week against Chicago. 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:43.760 Whenever Aaron Jones goes off, everything else follows suits. So 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:46.920 I just think you don't want to It's it's so 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:48.760 easy just to say, well, why doesn't he just carry 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:50.720 the ball twenty times? Well, you you can't just keep 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:52.920 running against a wall and going three and out, and 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.000 you know that's your offense, and that's what you're hanging 0:10:55.000 --> 0:10:56.600 your hat, and you have to be more multiple and 0:10:56.640 --> 0:11:00.079 diverse than that. But at the same time, what he 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:01.760 did well in the Giants game is what you want 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:03.600 to see them try to continue to do, which is 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:06.640 those six and seven yard carries that stretch and and 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:09.719 get you in those favorable second downs and favorable third downs. 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:12.440 Because Aaron Jones and Jimal Williams are both talented enough 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:15.040 that they're going to occasionally break a big run, but 0:11:15.160 --> 0:11:17.240 it's not being in second and eight and second and 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:21.640 nine that really is what puts you in a hole. Offensively, Yeah, 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:25.280 and certainly getting into those manageable third downs is where 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:28.760 Matt Lafleur, it's where Aaron Rodgers, that's where they want 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:30.560 to be. And I'll be writing about this in my 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:33.120 one Last Look column for Saturday. As far as okay, 0:11:33.200 --> 0:11:36.160 the Packers have four regular season games here too to 0:11:36.320 --> 0:11:39.800 make their last strides of improvement in all three phases. 0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:43.040 I think we know. On defense, it's about limiting the 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:46.080 big plays on special teams. It's about finding a return game. 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:48.960 On offense, it's about getting more efficient on third down. 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:52.839 Both Aaron Rodgers and Matt Lafleur brought that up when 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:55.720 I asked the specific question, what is that, what is 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:59.080 the focus for improvement over the final four regular season games? 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:01.480 It's third out and you look at this game West, 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:05.640 the Washington Redskins are thirtieth in the league and third 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:09.600 down defense. Now, last week against Carolina, after they fell 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:13.559 behind fourteen to nothing, they stopped ten consecutive third downs. 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.120 There was a stretch there it was actually eleven third 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:20.560 downs where Carolina's only conversion was via a penalty. Now 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:23.480 they got Carolina in a ton of third and longs. 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:25.320 You look through the play by play in that game, 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:28.160 it was third and sixteen, there was third and twenty three, 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:31.320 there was third and eighteen. I mean, Carolina was in 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:35.400 these ridiculous situations and Washington's defense got on a roll. 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:38.840 They kept stopping them on those third downs. But still, 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:42.000 this is a defense that is thirtieth in the league 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:46.720 on the season in third down conversion percentage. And that's 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:48.960 something the Packers have to take advantage of and start 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:51.360 to crank that up, start to turn that back the 0:12:51.400 --> 0:12:53.400 other way. Att, Yeah, and I do have a lot 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:55.720 of respect for what has happened with Washington. How Callahan 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:57.800 has pulled this thing back together because this very easily 0:12:57.800 --> 0:12:59.679 could have been a two and fourteen one and fifteen 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:03.080 type team the way the direction season went. Now that 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:05.760 being said, your record isn't always what you say you are. 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:11.160 The two wins that they have are over arguably the 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:15.480 two most struggling, inconsistent teams right now in the league 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:18.240 in Detroit and Carolina. They're in the conversation at least 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:21.679 a team that are going backwards right now. Certainly so 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:26.080 in that regard, you take it with a grain of salt. 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:29.040 But when that team steps on the field on Sunday, 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:30.800 they're not going to care about who they've beaten or 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:32.400 what their record is. They care about the fact that 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:34.400 they've won two games in a row. They're going to 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:37.200 have some wind in their sales, and they want to 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:40.439 suddenly pull themselves back into this NFC East race. That 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:43.400 it really looks like eight wins could win this thing, 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:50.160 maybe seven. So that nothing you can't you can't say 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:52.360 anything's out the door, You can't say anythings out the window. 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:54.760 It goes back to the exactly what I was saying 0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:57.600 in this very seat at almost the exact moment a 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:02.040 week ago. Giants struggling. The Giants had the record they had. 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:04.080 The Green Bay Packers have nine wins for a reason, 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:06.439 they need to go out in lambeau Field on Sunday 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:09.120 at home in front of their home crowd. Improve it. Yeah, 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:11.600 it's time to take care of business certainly. Well, you 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:14.840 mentioned the NFC East race. We saw a Thursday night game. 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:19.760 The Dallas Cowboys went into Soldier Field and quite frankly, 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:23.800 West they stunk it up and the Bears took advantage. 0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:27.800 The Bears got Mitchell Troubinsky running with the ball again, 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:31.160 both scrambling out of the pocket, read option runs, all 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:34.640 kinds of things. Suddenly, the running Mitch Trubisky that I 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:36.920 thought was a big part of the Bears going twelve 0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:40.560 and four last year, he's back that that's what they're doing, 0:14:41.320 --> 0:14:43.920 and it got them a big win over the Dallas 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:46.080 Cowboys thirty one to twenty four. And the game was 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:49.760 not that close, quite frankly, not not not even close 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:53.560 to being that close. And the Chicago Bears are seven 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:56.000 and six. They're still hanging in this thing in the 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:58.480 NFC to try to make a push for the playoffs. 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.320 The Dallas Cowboys still lead being the NFC East at 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:05.880 the moment, but at six and seven, with Philadelphia trying 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:09.200 to right the ship, and quite frankly, the Washington Redskins 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:12.560 looking now at an opportunity that hey, we're three and nine, 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:14.520 but if we run the table at seven and nine, 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.440 it might actually be enough to win the division. Washington 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:19.480 is not completely out of this yet. So the one 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:21.280 of the things I really hated about the narrative this game, 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:23.720 and I watched basically all of it. The first thing, 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:26.800 on Dallas's side, They're gonna put a lot of this 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:29.680 on Mayher, the kicker, Brett Mayhor. They're gonna put a 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.320 lot of it on Jason Garrett. That is as bad 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:34.600 as I've seen a team defend the read option in 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:37.520 the last five years. I mean, it was there was 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:39.880 no commitment to the ball carry at all. It was 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:41.800 selling out for the running back. It was just making 0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:44.800 the wrong decisions at the wrong times, and they picked 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:48.440 him apart. The Bears were able to do at will 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:50.400 what they wanted to do. They had the explosive chunk 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:52.479 places and they just had the momentum. I mean, defensively, 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:53.960 they made the plays when they need to, They got 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:56.359 the pressure when they needed to yeah, other than Troubinsky 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:58.840 throwing that interception at the goal line like on the 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:01.840 first possession. Other than that, it was like Dallas couldn't 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:05.560 stop him all the all night long. So and from 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:07.640 the Bears perspective, the one thing that has been kind 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:10.000 of maddening for me, and I think you can only 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:12.320 really have this perspective if you're on the outside looking in, 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:14.560 because I think people in Chicago are really quick to 0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:18.400 jump on Trubisky, whether it's media or fans. I've tried 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:20.320 to be right down the middle with this guy from 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:22.400 the very beginning. I didn't buy into the hype at 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:23.600 the bending of the year that this guy is going 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:25.120 to be an m v P candidate and all that. 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:27.320 But I also never really got to the point where 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:28.760 it was like, no, you gotta move on, you gotta 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:30.720 find a new quarterback, which is what the narrative kind 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:33.840 of was. Mitchell Trubisky is a really talented guy, and 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:37.760 when you call the game to accentuate his strengths, like Mattnege, 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:41.000 to his credit, did on on Thursday Night, you see 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:43.760 what he can do to a defense. Now Dallas is 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:47.040 struggling on defense. They are not the defense I thought 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:49.040 they were when they played the Packers earlier this season, 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:51.080 but you have to play the team that's in front 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.200 of you. So whether it was you know, Montgomery being 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:55.520 able to you know, get some yards and actually build 0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:58.200 some momentum out of the backfield, just what Trubisky was 0:16:58.240 --> 0:16:59.520 able to do with the ball in his hands and 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:02.000 spreading it around. They made the plays they need to make, 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:04.600 and when they got the turnovers and takeaways, they executed 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:08.600 on them. Yeah, well elsewhere here in Week fourteen, we 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:13.120 won't spend too much time talking about the Lions traveling 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:16.480 to Minnesota because quite frankly, I'll be shocked if Detroit 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:19.640 in the situation there and and with Minnesota coming off 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:24.520 of a difficult loss, but but certainly a performance that 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:26.960 was nothing to hang their head about in a tough 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:30.720 road environment in Seattle. I think Minnesota wins that the 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:33.760 Packers are going to need to win to stay a 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:36.359 game ahead of the Vikings. But two big games in 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:38.720 the NFC that we definitely need to talk about. What's 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:41.480 a pair of ten and two teams. The San Francisco 0:17:41.520 --> 0:17:45.000 forty Niners. We'll be traveling to New Orleans to take 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:49.000 on the Saints, and then in Sunday Night football. The 0:17:49.080 --> 0:17:52.439 Seattle Seahawks, coming off of that big home Monday night 0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:56.159 win over Minnesota, they will go to Los Angeles to 0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:58.159 play a Rams team that seems to have found a 0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:00.280 little bit of new life. The Rams are at seven 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:02.520 and five, and they were trying to stay in this 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:05.280 NFC playoff mix as well. Yeah, they're trying to stay 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:07.400 in the orbit of this whole thing. And the thing 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:09.520 that differs from where the Rams are where the Bears are. 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:12.000 The Bears have a really they have a grind coming 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:14.199 up here, including Green Bay. Yeah, they are sitting at 0:18:14.200 --> 0:18:16.960 the Bears. The Bears get the extra rest now, the 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:18.960 mini buy with the Thursday night game, but then they 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:22.439 have Green Bay Kansas City in Minnesota to finish the season, 0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:24.320 and the Bears are looking at needing to run that 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:27.600 table to get to ten and six and then let 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:29.640 the Chips fall and see if they're in the mix. Yeah, 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:31.399 whereas you look at the Rams right now, they have 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:33.760 Dallas coming up. They do have to face San Francisco 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:35.879 at San Francisco and then they actually close the season 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:38.119 at home against Arizona. So there's still very much in 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:40.000 the thick of this thing. If they can get on 0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:42.200 a run. You'd imagine they're gonna have to beat Seattle 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:47.080 or and or San Francisco probably and uh to really 0:18:47.080 --> 0:18:48.439 make a run at this thing, but they're still in 0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:50.760 it as well. A great matchup. It'll be interesting to 0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:55.320 see exactly how Seattle responds. Uh. Just an incredible game 0:18:55.359 --> 0:18:57.080 that they were a part of too. To be able 0:18:57.119 --> 0:19:00.000 to pull that out and everything that went into it. Uh, 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:02.639 you saw, I thought the resiliency from Russell Wilson bounced 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:04.600 back from smart early adversity and now he's gonna be 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:06.959 taken on a RAMS defense that's look pretty good as 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:10.520 of late. The main event, and we've been pointing towards 0:19:10.560 --> 0:19:13.639 this for months has been San Francisco versus New Orleans 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:15.320 because these are the two teams I think since the 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:18.919 very beginning of the season, once they started to realize 0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:22.240