WEBVTT - #484 Packers Unscripted: Culture and chemistry 0:00:00.920 --> 0:00:14.720 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:17.759 I am Mike Spofford, joint as always by my trusted 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:20.600 colleague West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.919 studios at lambeau Field. West Were another day closer to 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:30.720 Week fourteen, green Bay versus Washington Sunday noon Central time 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:35.080 kickoff at lambeau Field. Packers nine and three, the final 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:38.160 quarter of the regular season to go as they fight 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:42.159 for potentially an NFC North championship, a playoff birth, and 0:00:42.200 --> 0:00:44.879 all of that good stuff. It's been a lot of 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:49.360 things swirling around in the media amongst fans, a lot 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:54.320 of discussion as to just what is the identity of 0:00:54.520 --> 0:00:58.240 the two thousand nineteen Green Bay Packers. We've talked about 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:00.200 a little bit on this show. If there's any thing 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:03.040 I've said along those lines, I think it's that this 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.640 is a team that has proven more often than not 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:08.479 it's the better team in the fourth quarter, and that's 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:12.560 how it has won games. You look at defensively, they 0:01:12.560 --> 0:01:15.759 get sacks, they pressure quarterbacks, they get turnovers. That's kind 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:18.840 of the identity on that side of the ball. Offensively, 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:21.480 we know this unit is at its best when the 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:23.560 ball goes through the running backs for the most part, 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:27.200 at least that's where it starts. Aaron Rodgers had a 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:30.240 very interesting answer to this question, I thought in his 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:36.240 post Wednesday practice media huddle at his locker, because he 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:39.759 was asked the identity question and he didn't really talk 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:44.839 about the playbook. The play calls the xs and os 0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:48.400 on the field what somebody would see as this team's 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:51.600 identity on film when they study the two thousand nineteen 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:55.360 Green Bay Packers. His answer was very much rooted in 0:01:56.000 --> 0:01:59.280 the locker room and in the culture and in the 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:04.240 chemistry of the team. I thought that was very interesting 0:02:04.280 --> 0:02:06.840 because flat out he said he believes the identity of 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:11.360 this team is that is everybody embracing his role, a 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:14.120 role that has been handed down from the head coach, 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:16.320 from the general manager, of the way the roster has 0:02:16.360 --> 0:02:18.520 been constructed. In all of that, I thought it was 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:20.959 a very interesting answer because it really, in a lot 0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:24.400 of ways it had nothing to do with the identity 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:28.360 that people talk about in the in the film study sense. 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:30.640 Right in Matt Lafleur, when he was discussing this said too, 0:02:30.760 --> 0:02:34.200 he's going to leave that identity identifying the identity up 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:36.560 to the media whatever you want to say their identity is. 0:02:36.600 --> 0:02:38.520 That's well and good. The fact of the matter is 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:42.040 the Packers, without this identity that's you know, has a 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:44.760 title and a name and a description and a birthday, 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:47.079 they have been able to get to nine and three 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:49.200 at this point in Mike, for the first time in 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:51.920 two years, you and I are covering meaningful December football, 0:02:52.040 --> 0:02:56.560 legitimately meaningful December football. So if you're nine and three, 0:02:56.720 --> 0:02:58.600 if you've had the success that I don't think many 0:02:58.600 --> 0:03:01.000 people expected the Packers to have this year, to be 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:03.800 at nine wins sitting in the first week of December, 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:09.360 do you have an identity? And Rogers tapped into something 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:11.400 that I've kind of been alluding to for most of 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:13.000 the season. It's one of the reasons I want to 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:15.239 track down Mercedes Lewis in the locker room this week 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:21.079 because so many times, Mike, it's like, Okay, there's Davantie Adams. 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:23.519 He needs to get hundred and eleven catches, he needs 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:27.720 to get yards and fifteen touchdowns, and that's the sign 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:30.840 of a healthy, productive offense and team. And the reality 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:33.800 is that isn't that isn't it? The reality is is 0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:36.600 that you need guys like Mercedes Lewis and Jimmy Graham 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.080 who have been stars, have been Pro bowlers in other 0:03:39.120 --> 0:03:42.160 locations that are in a different stage of their career 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:44.440 that are willing to accept the role that's handed to him. 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:46.960 You need Jamal Williams as a fourth round pick in 0:03:46.960 --> 0:03:50.880 two thousand seventeen being the secondary option to the guy 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:54.280 that was taken around behind him. Aaron Jones that those 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:57.320 two became close friends in the relationship that they have. 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:01.720 That's special because so many times times it can be adversarial. Uh, 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:05.480 when you're when you're dealing with running backs and touches 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:07.320 and things of that nature. And there's a lot of 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:10.040 money at stake when these guys go for second contracts 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:11.600 and all that kind of stuff. That's all part of 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:14.120 the business too. Yeah, and you look at the receiving court, 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:16.560 Yeah it is Davante Adams. But if Davante Adams has 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:18.880 to take a back seat in any given week, he's 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:21.760 cool with it. And that permeates through the rest of 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:24.280 the room, whether it's Al Lazard, Marcus Veld, the scantling, 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:26.840 Jake Kumero. This list goes on and on of all 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:29.359 these different guys that have stepped up in Geronimo Allison 0:04:29.400 --> 0:04:33.400 in that conversation as well, that is the identity defensively, 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:35.920 it's the same situation when you look at Kyler Facral, 0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:37.760 guy had ten and a half sacks last year. The 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:41.080 Packer signed two premier pass rushers in the off season, 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:44.280 guys that you know we're gonna be the two most 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:46.680 coveted guys in terms of their age and what they 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:49.440 put on the field and their potential. Packers got both 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:51.080 of them, and Kyler Facral had to go back to 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:54.240 a secondary role. You haven't heard him piping up this season, 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:56.880 Kenny Clark. I mean the list goes on and on. 0:04:56.960 --> 0:04:58.919 So I mean for the Packers to be at this point, 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:01.040 you don't do that without camaraderie. You don't do that 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:04.479 with chemistry. Without chemistry, and more importantly, Mike, it's the 0:05:04.520 --> 0:05:06.720 culture of that locker room right now that's helped him 0:05:06.760 --> 0:05:09.600 get to this position. Yeah. I thought it was interesting because, 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:11.800 and if you want to check out my story, I 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:16.719 fashioned a piece after the locker room interviews on Wednesday 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:20.080 evening with you know, around Rogers comments, and I thought 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:22.839 it was just very interesting how he mentioned guys the guy. 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:25.400 The names of guys that he rattled off, Marcedes Lewis, 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:31.240 Jimmy Graham, Jamal Williams, Geronimo Alison, Kyler Facral. You look 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:34.640 at you look at all of those guys. They have 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:38.680 all had bigger and better seasons in their NFL careers 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:41.440 than they're having right now, even Jamal Williams, because you 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:44.280 look back at Williams rookie season he had. He had 0:05:44.320 --> 0:05:47.880 a stretch of three consecutive games in his rookie year 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:50.120 where he had a hundred plus yards from scrimmage three 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:51.800 games in a row. He was the bell cow. He 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:54.159 was getting it done. That's not his role this year. 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:56.880 Geronimo Allison, last year we talked about how he was 0:05:56.960 --> 0:05:59.760 on pace for a thousand yards season before he got injured. 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:02.920 He's not having that kind of year this year. Kyler Faco, 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:06.480 you mentioned the double digit sacks. Marcedes Lewis and Jimmy 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:08.640 Graham have gone to Pro Bowls before, They're not going 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:09.960 to Neither one of them is going to a Pro 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:12.000 Bowl this year. Let's just be honest, right, They're not 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:17.200 having that type of individual season. But yet nobody's nobody's complaining, 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:22.719 nobody's barking. Everybody has accepted and the way Rogers described 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:25.560 it as it's accepting a challenge that's handed down from 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:28.800 the head coach saying, this is your role, this is 0:06:28.800 --> 0:06:32.200 what we want you to do. So give it everything 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:35.719 you have and knock our socks off with this role 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:38.919 that you've been that you've been handed And it's it 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:41.760 is a big reason the Packers are nine and three 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:44.560 right now. And I think that's partly why, as we've 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:49.200 discussed at other times on the show, you don't really 0:06:49.240 --> 0:06:52.840 know every week how the Packers are going to go 0:06:52.920 --> 0:06:56.120 about winning the game, or at least attempting or trying 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:59.000 to win the game. But the thing is, because of 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:02.000 because of the culture they have and because of the 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:06.240 roles that more polished players or players with more polished 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:08.919 seasons in their careers earlier, because of the roles that 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:12.520 they've accepted, they believe that if they buy into it, 0:07:12.960 --> 0:07:15.960 then they are putting their best foot forward for the 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:18.400 for the team to have a shot to win the game. 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:21.800 It's it's it's fostered a belief and a confidence and 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:24.560 and I I personally think that that type of confidence 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:27.960 is what carries into the fourth quarter that if these 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:30.239 guys are right there in the fourth quarter, they believe 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:32.240 they're going to pull it out. Yeah. And it's different 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:34.600 this year too, because the Packers haven't, to this point 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:36.400 twelve weeks into the season, haven't had to deal with 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:39.480 a lot of injuries. Would Geronimo Allison's roll be bigger 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:41.360 if you didn't have all these other secondary options? Would 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:44.320 Jamal Williams will be bigger? Certain Jones wasn't having the 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:47.360 season he's having, certainly, absolutely, And it can change like that. 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:49.480 So that's why it's important to stay in tune with 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:51.600 where you're at because there could come a day in 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:54.040 two or three weeks where hey, now Jamal Williams is 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:56.240 the featured back and he has to carry the load. 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:58.080 You have to be ready for all of that. You 0:07:58.120 --> 0:08:00.680 have to mentally be able to under stand, this is 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:03.280 what's asked to me today and what could potentially be 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:05.600 asked to me tomorrow, and how you react to both 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:08.680 of those things matters, matters to the locker room, matters 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.320 how these things go. Because if any of these guys, 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:14.120 sixty three guys if you count the practice squad, any 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:17.440 of them peep up with discontent or whatever that creates 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:21.320 stress that creates dysfunction, It creates distractions that you don't need. 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:23.080 And I just feel like that's the thing that stands 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:25.840 out to me about this your team. You don't have that. 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:28.920 You asked me for a Tremont Williams quote when you're 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:31.200 writing that story. Unfortunately I didn't have one for you 0:08:31.280 --> 0:08:33.080 when I knew you would. I knew you had talked 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:36.520 to him. I had. I had missed his locker room 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:39.240 scrum on Wednesday, and I was hoping maybe he had 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:41.560 a comment that I could use for my story. Turned 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:43.080 out not to be the case, but He's gonna have 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:45.040 one for one that I'm going to be using with Lewis, 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:48.439 And it relates to what the importance is of showing 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:51.160 a guy like that and a guy like Tremont too, 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:53.079 who's been a star in this league, been a pro 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:55.040 bowler in this league, and has made a lot of 0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:57.360 money playing the game of professional football, coming from very 0:08:57.440 --> 0:09:01.520 humble beginnings, being able to humble themselves and understands what's 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:04.839 asked of them today, because it's not just about what 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:07.120 it does for the locker room. In two thousand nineteen, 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:09.960 you have Gyr Alexander, you have Robert Tonyan, you have 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:13.720 Ja Sternberger, You've got guys that are in the absolute 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:18.200 spring of their NFL careers that are hopefully, in their eyes, 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:21.560 going to be playing ten twelve years as well. They're 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:25.280 gonna remember those moments. They're gonna remember when when Mercedes 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:27.439 Lewis says something, when he does something, or the way 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:30.959 that Rogers interacts with him, and you're gonna remember the 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:33.719 way that Truman Williams very selflessly came back and said, yeah, 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:35.480 sure you need me at safety, although that's not my 0:09:35.559 --> 0:09:38.040 best position, Yeah let's play it because that's what I 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:40.760 have to do to help this defense stay afloat for 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:44.720 their second half of the season. That's that leaves big 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:47.400 marks and impressions on a locker room. So that that's 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:50.360 why it's important to Darius Smith talk about him changing 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:53.560 the culture, bringing in something new and energy, a passion, 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:56.600 and being able to bring everyone along for the ride. Whatever. 0:09:56.640 --> 0:09:58.080 You don't want to make fun of the d train 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:01.560 or kind of laugh about it, that's off matters because 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:04.000 it's not about what the Packers are trying to do 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:06.600 in two thousand nineteen, and by all means that's win 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:09.640 a super Bowl. It's getting back to a place where 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:13.160 they can contend every single year and have a locker room, 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:16.360 a coaching staff, and a culture that fits along with 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:19.120 that vision. Yeah, and I think as much as uh, 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:22.720 the guys that I rattled off before, they aren't every 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:25.760 down players on this team. They have specific roles they've 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:28.760 they've also taken on leadership roles to a certain extent. 0:10:28.840 --> 0:10:33.080 But also you see the leadership coming from those frontline 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:36.480 every down guys as well. And I'm talking about Davante 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.240 Adams who didn't say a word about the fact that 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:41.800 he went ten games or whatever it was without getting 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:44.440 a touchdown this year. Now, yes, he's enjoying the fact 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:46.640 that he's got three touchdowns in the last two games, 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:51.040 but he didn't say anything about that. And and what 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:55.320 what trickles down from there is is because, in my 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:58.000 in my opinion, because that kind of stuff doesn't come 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:01.400 out of his mouth, the the other receivers in that 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:06.280 room understand their value. Because if Davante Adams are saying, well, 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:08.680 I gotta get a bunch of touchdowns, then the other 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:10.640 receivers are like, well, what are we a bunch of 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.240 chopped liver? You know, I mean, so it's hard to 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:16.720 speak to that room when you're leading it absolutely, And 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:18.559 I say the same thing about the Smiths that you 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:22.319 know at outside linebacker, Preston's and Darius they are they 0:11:22.320 --> 0:11:24.719 are the every down guys. They hardly ever come off 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:27.080 the field. They're the ones racking up all the statistics 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:29.440 and everything like that. But they have made it clear 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.480 with their comments both publicly and behind the scenes. I 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:35.720 think in the meeting room how important a guy like 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:37.960 Kyler Facral is and the role and the role that 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:39.960 he plays that yeah, maybe we're the ones racking up 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:42.080 all the sacks, but hey, we need you out there 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:43.960 and lo and behold who makes the play on the 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:47.040 goal line against Carolina to preserve and and save that 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:48.959 a point? And Kyler Facral is the first guy in 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:52.199 the backfield, right. So it's those kinds of things that 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:55.040 you know that have helped, that have helped this team 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:59.240 along and create I I give Matt Fleur, Matt la 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:01.080 Fleur a lot of credit, and I don't know how 0:12:01.160 --> 0:12:03.560 much he'll be in the discussion potentially for Coach of 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:06.160 the Year, and who knows. There's still four regular season 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:08.080 games left and a lot of stuff can happen here. 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:13.560 But regardless of the any potential postseason award. I give 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:17.760 Matt Lafleur a lot of credit because he's created this 0:12:18.120 --> 0:12:20.400 culture and this locker room with the help of Brian 0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:23.320 Guducunsten the players who were brought in in a really 0:12:23.720 --> 0:12:27.839 very very short amount of time. Now, winning helps, but 0:12:27.840 --> 0:12:30.880 but they aren't. You know, the culture isn't just there 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:33.960 because of the winning. The culture has also contributed to 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:36.320 the winning. And it was interesting too because I wrote 0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:39.080 about this an Insider inbox because somebody was kind of 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:42.320 I think taking la Fleur's comments a little too literal 0:12:42.720 --> 0:12:45.040 about where he's pointing at himself and saying it's on him, 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:46.559 and somebody asked, well, when when's he gonna get this 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:47.880 all figured out? When he's gon get the play call 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:49.760 and figure it out? You got to see past the 0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:52.040 words with that, because if Brian good excuse me, if 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:54.480 Matt la floor sits up there and says, yeah, you 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:57.440 know what, he didn't do very well, or you know what, Yeah, 0:12:57.480 --> 0:12:59.800 we're losing confidence in that guy. You know what, I 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:02.280 can't really deal with what we're dealing with right now. 0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:05.880 Then what messages that send your locker room? The Fleur 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:07.960 every single time he has stepped forward and there's been 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:10.560 an issue, he points at himself. First, he did it 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:13.640 with J. K. Scott, the punter. What does the head 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:15.760 coach have to do with the how the punter is performing? 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:18.800 But he does that because if he doesn't look inward, 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:21.840 if he doesn't act accountable, how do you expect people 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:25.480 underneath you to be accountable? And this locker room, it 0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:27.720 goes back to that story I wrote at the beginning 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:29.240 of the season. The first time the Packers had to 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:31.960 look themselves in the mirror when the defense came back 0:13:32.000 --> 0:13:35.079 from Baltimore and had a three am meeting after they 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:39.680 played a preseason game, one quarter one preseason game against 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:42.559 by the way, maybe the m v P of the league, 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:47.240 Mr Jackson. So the way that you have to look 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:50.440 at this is there is an accountability. There is a 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:53.559 critiquing and understanding that before you go and say what 0:13:53.640 --> 0:13:55.480 you knew need to do better, I need to tell 0:13:55.520 --> 0:13:57.560 you what I need to do better. That is what 0:13:57.600 --> 0:13:59.360 has impressed me the most. And by the way, that's 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:01.679 the reason I leave. Matt Lafleur should be in the 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:04.200 conversation for Coach the Year because the one thing you 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:06.320 notice with these a p coach of the years. A 0:14:06.320 --> 0:14:08.560 lot of times it's the biggest turnaround. It's not always 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:09.920 who wins the Super Bowl. Now, if he wins the 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:12.600 Super Bowl, then I think that pretty much galvanizes it. 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:15.640 But you know, the fact that Mike McCarthy didn't get 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:17.480 it in two thousand seven has always kind of bothered 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:19.960 me because if a team it goes fifteen and one 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:22.280 or they win a Super Bowl, coaches don't always get 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:24.680 those accolades. Matt Lafleur should be right in the middle 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:26.760 of this conversation because of how quickly they've been able 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:28.280 to turn this thing around. Yeah, and I like what 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:30.720 you said about la Fleur in terms of in terms 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:32.960 of his accountability because there are a lot of head 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:36.560 coaches in this league there we always talk about there 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:38.240 are different ways to do things right. There are a 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:41.080 lot of head coaches in this league who they wouldn't 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:43.760 They don't say things to the media at the podium 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.000 the way Matt Lafleur does because they're afraid that it 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:51.080 projects weakness. You know, Matt Lafleur believes that it projects 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:54.560 accountability and that is then what trickles down to the 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:56.080 rest of the team and I got to kick out 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:58.680 of that question. You answered an insider inbox about you know, 0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:00.720 when is Matt Lafleur gonna fig hear out this play 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:03.000 calling thing and stop having to say that you know 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:04.800 he should have called better plays or there so that 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:08.760 I got news for you. Everybody in the NFL who's 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:11.320 calling offensive plays are calling defensive plays, no matter how 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:14.840 long they've been doing it every game. They have regrets, 0:15:15.120 --> 0:15:17.160 they have play calls that they want back. They don't 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:20.040 always say that. They don't always make it known to 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:22.760 everybody that yeah, you know, I screwed up a few times. 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:26.560 But trust me, every single one of those guys, like 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:29.200 nobody's got this whole thing figured out. You know, just 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:31.280 because Matt la Fleur is the one who's saying, yeah, 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:33.200 I gotta call better plays, I gotta put my guys 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:37.000 in better position. He doesn't just say I need to 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:38.960 coach better, which is what a lot of coaches say. 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:40.440 And that's fine. They don't want to get into the 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:44.360 details publicly. That's their choice. Matte Fleur has, you know, 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:47.200 has pulled back the curtain a little bit in terms 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:50.480 of where he feels he needs to help the team more. 0:15:50.680 --> 0:15:52.720 And uh and I and I agree with you. I 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:55.720 think that's projected something that has trickled down to the 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:57.960 other leaders in the locker room, which then trickles down 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:00.000 to the rest of the locker room. That Hey, account 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:01.920 ability starts with looking in the mirror. And if that 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:03.520 guy is going to stand in front of all those 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:06.240 cameras at the podium and take the blame for something, 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:09.440 then you guys can do it behind closed doors as well. Yeah, 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:11.320 and I'll tell you what I mean when you look 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:14.920 at how this season has unfolded for green Bay, I 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:17.840 still don't think if you don't have that type of leadership, 0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:19.640 if you don't have that type of oversight. As much 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:22.920 was made coming into Green Bay about Matt Lafleur's offense 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:25.120 and what he's gonna do to, you know, revitalize things, 0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:28.640 if you don't have that, I don't think the Packers 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:30.400 are at nine and three the way that he's handled 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:32.600 this because they've had to win so many close games, 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:35.040 They've had to pull things out late in ball games, 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:37.640 and they've really had to dig deep at different intervals 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:43.040 and have that contribution come from a number of different positions, phases, 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:46.640 what have you. And now you're down to the final 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:49.880 four games. And I wrote about this an inbox on 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:55.040 on Tuesday. You never apologize for victory because it's so 0:16:55.160 --> 0:16:58.680 difficult to attain it. Asked the Atlanta Falcons, asked these 0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:00.800 teams that thought they were legitimate at contenders, asked the 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.120 Chicago Bears, the fact that they've had to be the 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:06.080 team now that's like, okay, they went twelve, they went 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:08.040 twelve and four a year ago, and right now they 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:10.600 have an extremely difficult schedule in looking at ten and 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:13.080 six as the best they can do if they can 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:16.000 run through a gauntlet of a final month. So if 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:18.320 you're staying at nine and three, you can say whatever 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:20.959 you want. The identity to be my identity. The way 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:23.480 I look at that is you're a winner and you 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:25.560 have a real chance right now to do something special 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:29.800 in January. Yeah. Absolutely, Well, you wrote another follow up 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:34.399 story to Mason Crosby. Um, not just related to coming 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:36.360 off of the Giants game and everything that was going 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:39.000 on there, but you had some interesting statistics in there 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:42.520 within the context of the fact that Crosby and we 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:44.760 don't want to jinx our veteran kicker here, but he 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:49.199 did knock on woods. Yeah, every of the lockers are 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:52.000 made of woods, because guys will do that occasionally. He's 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:55.359 only missed one field goal so far this season. He's 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:58.680 perfect on his extra points. He's having a career year 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:03.440 from a percentage and an accuracy standpoint. But it's interesting 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:07.960 because across the league that's not what's happened. The field 0:18:07.960 --> 0:18:11.440 goal percentages are down league wide compared to where they've 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:14.120 been in recent years. It's it's kind of interesting how 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:18.119 this is unfolding and we're seeing how injuries at kicker 0:18:18.280 --> 0:18:21.240 or under performance at kicker with other teams and stuff. 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:24.520 It's leading to a revolving door, kind of a carousel 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.840 of of kickers jumping around to different teams and taking 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:29.880 their shot and then getting cut right away and all 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:32.919 this other kind of stuff. And uh, you know, the 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:35.879 Packers have as much stability, if not more so, at 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:39.840 that position than than anybody could ask for at this point. Yeah. No, strangely, 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:43.040 a lot of kicker injuries this year. Yeah, that has 0:18:43.119 --> 0:18:46.800 that has definitely factored. Yeah, Robbie Gold has been injured, 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:49.760 and I'm then Terry's hurt again. The money Badger in 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:52.800 l A was out for a long time. Michael Badgeley 0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:55.040 so I mean like there's actually been like quite a 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:59.199 few of those, yeah, for New England. So as of 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:01.919 you know, we saw on Wednesday the Patriots didn't have 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:05.080 a kicker during practice, and it turned out because they 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:07.239 had put in a claim on Chase McLoughlin, who had 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:10.400 just been released from San Francisco because Gold is back, 0:19:10.880 --> 0:19:12.879 and then three teams place a waiver claim on him 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:14.720 and he gets picked up by the Colts, who now 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:18.920 don't have venetary. So this shows you one how difficult 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:21.000 it is to find a kicker in the NFL too. 0:19:21.400 --> 0:19:23.240 When you get that guy, how important it is to 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:25.200 stand by them because there are going to be highs 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:26.800 and lows and ups and downs. But if you feel 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:28.280 like you have a guy you can be confident in, 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:31.040 you need to value that guy. There was a conversation. 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:32.639 I hope I'm not speaking out of school here, but 0:19:32.680 --> 0:19:35.199 I was talking with Crosby afterwards after we did the 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:37.399