October 31, 2024 • 31 mins
Mike and Wes preview the matchup with the Lions, looking at the Packers’ injury situation (4:06), the Lions’ makeup on offense (5:37) and defense (10:43), and Green Bay’s keys to victory (16:17). They also look around the league at other key Week 9 matchups (23:00).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:15):
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Packers dot Com. I am Lake Spofford, joined as always
by my partner in crime, Wes Hodko. It's coming to
you Hear from our studios at Lambeufield to preview Sunday's
big NFC North showdown. It's the Packers and the Lions.
It will be a three twenty five Central Time kickoff.
And Wes, that outfit of yours looks familiar.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
It does. So we had a bunch of practical jokers
at Packers dot Com by the name of Haley Helmley
and Kristen Crispy Shand that decided to work their way
into our studio, the grim at Packers Studio and try
to replicate the irreplicable. And Mike Spofford and Wes how
(01:02):
Kwitz here on Packer's Unscripted. And I want to say
this for anybody that might have caught that video. Okay,
this is how I know.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
It's on Twitter for those who are wondering.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yeah talking about Yeah. By the way, this does nothing
for anybody on the audio version of this right now, right,
But this sweater that I'm wearing that Lisa Trickle from
the Packers Pro Shop or the pro shop. She was
the one that originally picked this out for me, Duke
Bober our boss, and I'm gonna put you on blast, Duke,
I'm gonna mention your name. I'm gonna say your name.
He comes up to me and he's like, hey, you know,
(01:30):
I got a packers thing going on next week. Could
I borrow your sweater for sure? Yeah, no problem, I'm
happy to help my coworkers. And as it turns out,
he was actually lifting this so that Haley could go
and use it along with a wig that does not
look like my hair at all, maybe the twenty twelve
version of Wes Hodkowitz, but not the twenty twenty four version.
(01:51):
And they put together a little piece of business kind
of trying to mimic Packer's unscripted. I enjoyed it, but
the North remembers.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
The North remembers there was a little story behind the
shirt that Chris was wearing as well that I was
absolutely stunned when I saw that video and I saw
that shirt because that was a shirt that I had
owned long before I worked for the Green Bay Packers,
(02:27):
and at some point, just random day, I wore it
and Tyler Gayeski from our video department. He was an
intern at the time. This is long before you even
showed up here. Tyler's been full time for like fifty Yes,
this is when Tyler was an intern. And I ended
up gifting the shirt to Tyler. It's a rather loud,
(02:53):
obnoxious it's a nineties type yeah, Okay, Zach Morris would.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Have worn that.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah, And Tyler was enamored with the shirt. So when
he was an intern, I gifted him the shirt. Posterity sake,
Lo and behold from moving from third floor to second
floor to now where we have our temporary offices and
where the video department is down the hall, like, Tyler
(03:19):
has hung on to that shirt and it showed up
in Thepackers dot Com mock video with Kristin shand Crispy
as we call her, wearing it was I was absolutely floored.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Kristin did a good job too. She that was a
pretty good Mike Spofford she did.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
She did do a pretty good job.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Yes, credit to them.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
The shirt is what really made the made the effort
rather noteworthy for me. Anyway back to business though, but
there's a big football game youhu jump at lambeau Field
Sunday afternoon Packers against the Lions. Green Bay is six
and two in second place in the NFC North to
Troit is six and one, sitting on top of the division.
(04:03):
Before we dig into the Lions and how they got
to that six and one record, a quick update on
the Packers' injury situation. Things still rather murky and uncertain
at particular spots. Quarterback Jordan Love did not practice on
Wednesday due to the groin injury, but he did speak
with the media and say he definitely and he definitely
(04:26):
wants to play, and he feels it's realistic that he
could be he could play on Sunday. Possibly even if
he's unable to practice all week, he still might be
able to play on Sunday. So that will certainly be
something monitored throughout the week and all the way up
until those inactives are turned in ninety minutes before kickoff.
Perhaps running back Josh Jacobs, who left the Jacksonville game
(04:49):
right at the very end with the ankle bothering him,
he says he'll be good to go. He wasn't practicing Wednesday,
but he's saying it's just body maintenance. He'll be good
to go come Sunday afternoon. A lot less that we
know about cornerback Jay r Alexander and safety Evan Williams.
Neither was practicing on Wednesday. Didn't really hear from either guy,
(05:15):
and really very much in weight and see mode on
that as far as as far as the defense is concerned,
and there's there's potentially all kinds of different scenarios of
how the Packers go about this game in their secondary
if they get one of those guys back or both
of them, or if neither is able to play. So
(05:35):
a lot of question marks there. Going up against a
high powered Detroit Lions offense.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Detroit Lions offense man is something to behold, and watching
how they've adjusted and how they've adapted and how they've
grown over the last three years has been I give
them a lot of credit. They've drafted well. Dan Campbell
has instituted a mentality and instilled the philosophy and the
toughness into that football team. And every single year he's
been there, that team has gotten better and better and better.
(06:01):
So the Green Bit Packers have to match that. A
lot will be made this week and you and I
will probably talk about it. Some today still about what
exactly is going to happen to Green Bay on the
offensive side of the ball, Who's going to be under center,
what is going to have to happen for the Packers
to be successful. This game really does hinge though, on
the Packers' defense being able to answer everything that Detroit
is going to throw at them, because they have arguably
(06:21):
the best backfield in the game, certainly one of the
best two hundred and two headed tandems in professional football
right now in Jamier Gibbs and David Montgomery. Aman Rossain
Brown is a legitimate superstar. Sam Laporta has proven me wrong.
He was one of the guys that I had a
big question mark about when he was coming out, if
he had the size, if he was going to be
able to be the complete player they needed him to be.
(06:42):
He has been that and then some. And then when
Jared Goff is completing passes at almost a seventy five
percent clip, that means things are going pretty well for
your offense. They've been efficient, they've been explosive, they've been dangerous,
and the Packers have a supreme challenge in front of them.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Yeah, it's a big time challenge. The Lions have won
five in a row, a one on one start, and
really the last four games is where we've seen their
team kind of take off. They're averaging forty three points
per game over their last four games in that stretch.
I don't have the numbers in front of me exactly,
but it's like Jared Goff has thrown almost as many
(07:18):
touchdown passes as incomplete pass yeah, or something like that
over the last four games. Statistically, he has a one
hundred and fifty five passer rating over the last four games.
That's a month of football with a one to fifty
five passer rating. His passer rating on the season is
one fifteen, which is impressive enough. You mentioned the two
headed monster in the backfield, Gibbs and Montgomery. Their carries
(07:41):
have been almost exactly split. I believe there's only one
kre different between the two of them. Gibbs is the
you know, the speedster, the home run hitter. Montgomery is
the power back. But either one of these guys can
do whatever you ask of them in the backfield in
terms of, you know, whether it's catching passes, whether it's
(08:02):
picking up blitzes, whether it's inside runs or outside runs.
I'm on Ross Saint Brown. He has forty one receptions
this season, which is actually more than twice as many
as anybody else on the Lions. He's clearly the go
to guy in the passing game. And then second in
receptions with twenty is Sam Laporta, the tight end you mentioned.
He has a fifty two yard touchdown. We're talking about, actually,
(08:26):
I mean, two of the really up and coming and
reaching the level of premiere tight ends in this league
are going to be on the field together in Sam
Laporta and Tucker Craft. You look at their statistics, you
look at their highlights, you know what they're producing for
their respective teams, and it's pretty impressive. And both of
these guys are still really young. Bottom line is the
(08:50):
Lions have just weapons across the board, and I think
what I think what makes them most dangerous is that
they've just shown the ability to score in a hurry.
They you know, you can maybe even hold them down
for a couple of possessions and then all of a sudden,
within their next five or six plays, they could score
(09:12):
two touchdowns because because they're that explosive and they can
make things happen that quickly in.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
The way they beat teams is noteworthy. I mean, you
are talking about a Tennessee Titans team that is really
struggling right now and is going through a bunch of
different things, and the Detroit Lions ran through them, like
you should that type of team go back. You know,
two weeks ago, Dallas Cowboys. Cowboys trying to get their
season right. Detroit's like, nope, we got this. They wanted
(09:39):
down to the wire football game, you know against the
Minnesota Vikings thirty one to twenty nine. They're just so
darn consistent in everything that they do. Now there has
been adversity. Jamison Williams is suspended for this game. Still
had that issue, I believe with the performance substance, performance
enhancing variety. I believe it was two games suspension for him.
(10:00):
Aiden Hutchinson goes down with it. You know, the devastating
leg injury. Defensively, that's been something they're going to have
to make up for here the rest of the year.
They don't have a guy that necessarily just fits into
that power pass rushing mode that they're going to have
to deal with. But as a collective, a team that
got so close to the Super Bowl last year has
picked up right where it left off and has really
(10:22):
showed that we are still on the incline and we
still are very much in contention for that Super Bowl championship.
That's a little to them for so long.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Yeah, absolutely they are. They have. They've taken the field
through this first half of twenty twenty four look looking
like a team on a mission, knowing that that they
let it get away last season in San Francisco in
that NFC Championship game. You mentioned Hutchinson on the defensive side,
(10:49):
he is out for the remainder of at least the
regular season based on what we're hearing he has. He
had seven and a half sacks before he went down,
was on his way to potentially, you know, defensive player
of the year or certainly being in that discussion. Nobody
else on the Lions has more than two and a
half sacks at this point. But that being said, the
(11:10):
first full game without Hutchinson against the Vikings, they sacked
Sam Darnold four times, So you can't take anything for
granted here. What really sticks out to me statistically is
that this is a defense that has ten interceptions, which
matches the Packers total ten interceptions on the season, and
(11:30):
it's the safety Kirby Joseph with five of them, and
then safety Slash Nickel slot corner Brian Branch with four.
Those two guys have combined for nine out of the ten.
The Lions are plus ten in turnover margin this season.
The Packers are plus seven in turnover margin. So there's
a lot of there's a lot of when you look
(11:53):
at the numbers, sort of like something's got to give
in this game, right, because both these teams both have
six wins for a reason. But defensively, defensively, I think
where the Lions have been most vulnerable is against the pass.
They've had a lot of flags in the secondary, a
(12:13):
lot of first downs by penalty by their opponents. But
then you look at the ten interceptions and it's, you know,
so the ten interceptions they have and the way they've
taken the ball away, So it's not like you can
just say, all right, well, just let's just drop back
and throw it right yard, because these guys will find
ways to make plays.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
And Branch is one of those guys. Mike, This happens
every once in a while in the National Football League,
where someone is considered a top draft pick and he
falls for whatever reason, it ends up being a second rounder.
And I think so many people made such a big
deal about his safety position when it was like the
Detroit Lions, kudos to them. They're like, no, this is
a nickel cornerback that could be an explosive player in
this league and they've reaped an ultimate reward with him
(12:53):
falling into their lap where they did Kirby Joseph a
good third round pick from him a number of years ago.
I was telling you before we started the show, I
can't believe he's already up to twelve interceptions or whatever
it is in his career. Yeah, certainly he made a
big coming out party in twenty twenty two with his
interception off Aaron Rodgers in that finale against green Bay
to really solidify that victory for the Lions and knock
the Packers out of the playoffs, securing that winning season
(13:15):
finally that Detroit had been chasing at that time. And
again they've just gotten better and better. But between Hutchinson's injury,
between what's happened with Marcus Davenport, there is an issue
there as far as their edge rush is concerned. That's
one area where green Bay does need to take advantage.
Whether it is Jordan Love or whether it is Malik Willis,
the dangers are different without those two guys on the field,
especially in Hutchinson's case, who had seventeen quarterback hits at
(13:38):
the time in which he got injured, the seven and a.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Half sacks of the prest five games or four and
a half games or whatever it was.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Yeah, he was constantly on top of the quarterback and
for him to be gone, now that's something that they're
gonna have to deal with. But you know what, Mike, again,
another testament to the way they play. They are a
complete three phase football team. You look at last week
with Kalise Fraeman, was that, believe the NFC Special Teams
Player of the week.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
That's what I was going to bring up with what
they're doing in the return game right now too. Khalif
Raymond takes a punt ninety yards for a touchdown. I
believe it was against the Titans. As you said, he's
the reigning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, and
they had a big kickoff return as well, seventy plus yards.
And the first name escapes me, but his last name
is Dorsey. John Dorsey, Yeah, John Dorsey, good old friend,
(14:23):
but il Dorsey. So they have a ninety yard punt
return and a seventy yard kickoff return in the same game.
I mean again, just other examples of the explosiveness of
the players that they have on the field and the
way they can the way they can turn a game
on its head so quickly. Because a couple different things
(14:46):
to look at here. When they beat the Vikings in Minneapolis,
they felt but the Lions fell behind ten to nothing
out of it eating that game, and they didn't blink,
they didn't flinch, and they ended up they ended up
needing a field goal right at the end to win.
But that was because of a fumble by David Montgomery
in the fourth quarter that the Vikings scooped and scored,
(15:07):
you know, ran the other wave to surprisingly retake the lead.
But they're down ten to nothing on the road division rival,
you know, Minnesota Vikings, and you know they you know,
they ended up outscoring them. I believe it was like
twenty eight to seven through like the second and third
quarters of that game last week against the Titans, that
(15:27):
game is fourteen to fourteen in in the early stages.
At some point in the first half there it's fourteen
all and the next thing you know, the Lions have
ripped off twenty eight or thirty five straight points or
whatever it is, and the game turns into a blowout.
So these guys can These guys can change games in
a hurry, I guess, is what my point is.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
And to get back as far as the special teams too,
they're just they're really solid. I think Jack Fox is
one of my favorite punters in the league. He's been
an All Pro before in this time, he's one of
the guys when you watch him, his ball placement is
just extraordinary. And then Jake Bates has gone in there
and I think as eleven for eleven on the season
after everything he did during the XFL year. Again, they're
very complete. We'll talk about in a minute here. There's
(16:09):
opportunities for the Packers to win this game, but the
challenges and the need to be you know, dial into
your details is so so critical to being able to
defend a team like this.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Yeah, well that was what's next on my list is Okay,
we've gone over all these things that the Lions do
well and why they are six and one and sitting
on top of the NFC North and in fact kind
of the team right now that most people are pegging
as the team to beat in the NFC in general.
So what are the keys to victory for Green Bay?
What do the Packers need to do to come out
(16:42):
on top in this one?
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Survive the second quarter? I don't know. You dig into
this stuff a lot. You look at the stat sheet.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
I did see those numbers. It's like one hundred and
two points to like twenty twenty seven, twenty seven.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Okay, So what Detroit does is, I mean they start
and it's kind of almost like a fighter sort of
finding his range, and then they hammer you in the
second quarter, and you know, you look at their their
ebbs and flows, I mean it's thirty eight, one hundred
and two sixty five twenty three. Like there is sort
of this pattern as far as when they're striking. But
(17:15):
that is where they've won a lot of these games,
is they've taken the souls of a lot of teams
in that second quarter and going into halftime and really
making them question everything. They talk so much about the
point differential in the NFC North and in how extraordinary
that has been to this point, and the fact that
all four of these teams are actually in the plus
area if I remember correctly, and the Allions are like
(17:35):
plus one sixteen. I mean, they are just getting out
and dominating teams, but there are opportunities. They're strange anomalies
with this team, the fact that they're minus one sixteen
and the penalty differential, the fact that you know they've
had some moments there where teams have been able to
put points on them and they've been able to have
success against them. But when you're getting hit with waves
of offense like the Relions have done, which again with
(17:58):
a few exceptions, are their top ten and pretty much
everything top five in a lot, that's ultimately what pushes
the tempo of a football game. No matter what it's
about points, it's about touchdowns. And the Detroit Lions, with
how efficient Jared Goff has been playing at an MVP
caliber level to this point, it's been really hard to
knock them off their spot. The Packers have to do that, though.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Yeah, and I think for me, for me, this game
comes down to the explosive play ratio or the explosive
play equation. Both of these offenses, the Packers and the Lions,
they make big plays a lot You know, taking chunksy
yard it's twenty five yards here, thirty five yards there.
The Packers have to win that ratio in this game.
(18:40):
I don't think you. I don't think you're going to
stop the Lions from being able to make explosive plays.
But the more times that you can make them grind
out a twelve or thirteen play drive in order to score,
that's just where you give the defense more opportunities to
possibly get whether it's that pass deflection or punch the
(19:00):
ball out, or somebody gets a really good rush and
either gets the hit on the quarterback or the really
good rush that leads to a holding penalty and then
puts them behind the sticks, and then you have a chance.
But if they're going to take thirty and forty yard
chunks of the field on a regular basis, your defense
is not going to have a chance to do that.
And conversely, offensively, the Packers, in a lot of ways,
(19:23):
they live and die by the explosive play. When the
Packers get an explosive play, they score points on the
drive more often than not. I'd say it's probably ninety
to ninety five percent of the time. So the Packers
still have to be able to do what they do
against this defense and take chunks of the field at
the end of the game. If we're looking at the
place of twenty plus yards and the Packers are, the
(19:44):
Packers make more of them than the Lions than I
like Green Bay's chances to win this football.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
In whatever yards they can't get against the run. I
mean defensively, the Lions, they've been really good as far
as teams and what they're rushing and their averages are.
But if you dig into that a little bit more,
it's because so many teams have had to throw from
being behind their fifth and run defense right now, but
they're twenty second in yards per rush, and if you
look at it with the passing game, yes, teams have
(20:10):
put up some passing yards because they've had to. If
you can establish the run and get into your offensive rhythm,
especially if it ends up being Malik Willis as your
starting quarterback in this thing, if Jordan can't go, that
is going to be absolutely critical. One of the things
that Packers have done really well Mike in all of
these appearances, maybe with the exception of the final play
there that Willis had to come in Brazil, but his
(20:32):
three games where he basically helped them win the game. Right,
They've been able to manage possessions at a premium. Every
single possession has had meaning for the most part. That
has to continue against Detroit. If you're going to be
able to hang in there with the punch just that
they're going to throw against you.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Yeah, and the other thing too, because we know this
is a Lions team that doesn't turn the ball over
much that I was actually looking at. The Packers have
gone five consecutive games without having a turnover free game. Offensively, offensively,
slash special teams. You cannot turn the ball over in
this game. You may not be able to win the
turnover battle, but you have to be able to get
(21:10):
out of this game at worst at zero zero in
the turnover takeaway department. Because seeing the Packers only have
the one giveaway last week on the interception in the
red zone, that was certainly a step in the right direction.
And as we've seen with Malik Willis he in all
the time that he has been playing in place of
Jordan Love, he does not put the ball in harm's way.
(21:33):
He's done a remarkable job of protecting the football. But
whether it's whether it's love or willis it feels like
this game has to be a zero giveaway game. Yep
for green Bay. Regardless of what the defense is able
to do in the takeaway department, the Packers absolutely cannot
have a turnover. You know.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
The other thing that has happened to green Bay has
to win on third downs because the Detroit Lions are
the best in ball right now defensively on third downs. Again,
that goes with a lot of teams to throw against him.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
But you what is the they're allowing is it? Is
it thirty percent or just under right right at right
at thirty percent? Thirty percent conversions on a third down
against that defense, It's a It's a tough one to
move the chains. I'll take care of some sponsor business here.
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to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need.
(22:23):
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Speaker 2 (22:44):
We should ever do the draft?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Will imitate me? So well?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Yeah, ever do the draft one? Like literally remember that
when Matt Arvin had micd up coon that one time
and he came in and did on scripture with us
that one time. Yeah, yeah, she have Kristen just come
in with yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Just ever come in. She can do the she can
do the ad reads. It's week nine, yeah in the NFL.
Wes looking around at the other games that are going on.
I mean there is there is no game on the
slate in the NFL in Week nine that is bigger
than Packers and Lions at lambeau Field. But that being said,
(23:21):
there are other very interesting ones that impact the NFC
in general as well as the NFC North. I'm very
curious Chicago goes on the road to Arizona. I am
very curious how the Bears respond to losing a game
on a Hail Mary, because that kind of loss, and
especially with everything with you know, the one player Tyreek
(23:43):
Stevenson whose kind of head was not in the game
on the final play and all that, that's the kind
of thing that can that can really spiral things the
wrong way for a team. So can the Bears respond
to that in the appropriate way. Going out to Arizona
and playing against a Cardinals team that Kyler Murray in
that offense, they're getting some things going out.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
They're so scrappy and Marvin Harrison Junior. We talked about
it when the Packers played on I mean, it's just
such a premium talent and they've been I keep saying it.
I mentioned in last week's show. Seeing if you don't
corral Murray what he can do offensively is something to behold.
There's a lot of good scrambling quarterbacks, there's a lot
of good elusive quarterbacks. He has it all and he
(24:26):
can really will you to a victory. Chicago great test
for them defensively, but I'm with you, seeing what their
response to that game is is going to be critical.
I mean, really realistically, even though the Packers and the
Lions are the ones that are playing in the NFC
North and have these big implications both that game. Indianapolis
Colts traveling to the US Bank to face the Vikings
is also very huge too. Joe Flacco is now the
starting quarterback there.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
That was the other one I was going to bring up.
And it's interesting how that evolved because a couple of
weeks ago that game Indianapolis at Minnesota was flexed into
the Sunday night time slot. It was just going to
be a garden variety afternoon game on Sunday. Since that
game was flexed into the Sunday night slot, the Vikings
had lost back to back games. They went from five
(25:07):
to o to five and two, and Indianapolis now has
benched young quarterback Anthony Richardson for Joe Flacco. Flacco is
stepping in as the starter. It sounds like for the
long haul here, at least in terms of twenty twenty four,
probably for the rest of the season that Flacco is
going to be is going to be Indies guys. So
now all of that going on and that that game
(25:28):
is in is in prime time.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
A couple other original Sunday night game do you remember?
Speaker 1 (25:34):
I believe it was Philadelphia against Jacksonville. Oh okay, And yeah,
they with where the where things were going with the Jaguars,
the the league and the networks decided they wanted the
Vikings instead. So a couple other games though that are
some really interesting implications elsewhere in the NFC. Dallas at
(25:55):
three and four is at Atlanta. Atlanta is five and
three and sitting on top of the NFC South. Right now,
it kind of feels like we say we say this,
you know, at least once every two weeks that the
Cowboys find themselves in like a must win type of
game with what's going on with the Commanders and the
Eagles in the NFC East. If the Cowboys dropped to
(26:18):
three and five, if they lose this game and dropped
to three and five, they're really really playing uphill the
second half of the season. They're in big trouble.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Yeah, and you can seem bras you can't ever take
anything for granted year to year, and you can't always
have the masth of Okay, well this team played this
way one year, they're going to run through everybody the next.
Doesn't work like that. Cowboys have had a couple of injuries.
I think Deron Bland is back this week or at
least has had his window activated for return, So potentially
maybe that gives you a left here, But they just
(26:46):
they are a team searching for something right now. Also,
this has been another lesson in why I wrote the
story on Chris Brooks. This week, we've talked about Josh
Jacobs investing into your backfield and understanding the value of
having your or your franchise back, whether it's a young guy,
whether it's not. The Cowboys are a great example of
how critical that is. They moved on from Zeke, they
(27:07):
went with Tony Pollard for a year, they let Pollard go,
and then they brought Zeke back. After kind of a
lackluster year in New England. Their running game has been
in shambles this year too. Dak has not had that
compliment that I think he needs in an offense to
really have those explosive plays present themselves. In the Atlanta Falcons,
as much as we've talked about the Vikings and all
the free agent signings they've made, the Falcons really have
(27:27):
kind of pushed all in in terms of bringing in
all these types of guys. I think Justin Simmons had
come in late, like they had all these different players
that they had signed, veterans that have been in the
league seven eight years, and it took some time to
take and Kirk Cousins has been very up and down
this season. Yeah, but when they're on they're on and this,
by no means is an easy one for the Dallas
Cowboys trying to go into Mercedes Benz and get a victory.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Yeah. Absolutely. The Falcons won a big one in their
division last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which is why.
And that was on the road. Actually, the Buccaneers were
wearing the old cream Sickle uniforms and the Falcons knocked
them off down there in Tampa. So that's why the
Falcons are sitting on top of that division. And now
they're back home against the Cowboys. Out in the NFC West,
(28:10):
the Los Angeles Rams, a team that is maybe starting
to find itself here. They're getting the receivers back. We
talked about that and the impact that had and beating
the Minnesota Vikings last Thursday night. The Rams are three
and four. They are at Seattle going up against a
Seahawks team that is four and four. Four and four
is the top of the NFC West right now, multiple
(28:32):
teams with that record and Seattle trying to figure things
out after being at home last week against Buffalo. Buffalo
flies all the way across the country and walks into
Seattle's normally difficult stadium, and just absolutely took it to
the Seahawks and that game was it was almost like
(28:53):
it was never even a contest. Buffalo completely dominated.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
And now they got to deal with Cup and they
got to deal with Nikua Yea and that changes everything.
We saw it in that game against the Vikings. Rams
are totally different with those two dudes on the field.
Everything improves when they're out there. Seattle's an other team
has been up and down. You know, DK Metcalf potentially
getting healthier. But I mean, the fact is is that
when you're looking at a division right now where so
many and again Arizona Cardinals at four and four is
(29:18):
sitting at top right now for whatever reason, if the
season ended after eight weeks, they would be the team
in the playoffs right now. Out of this whole equation, Yeah,
every win in that division is critical, So how that plays,
it'll be interesting. In addition to the fact that for
the sixth time in nine weeks, the New York Jets
are in primetime tonight.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Is that what is that?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
What is six times? Six times in nine.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Weeks and they are one of the worst teams in
football right now?
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Yeah, Like I will say this about the networks they
completely loaded up on Aaron Rodgers in the first two
months of the season, like they were like, all right,
all our chips are in on that, but.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Here we are all and gambling is always illegal at Bushwood.
But did I hear correctly that Vegas actually has the
Jets favored over the Texans tonight? It's like it's like
by one point or something like that.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
They are at home. But it's weird.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
It's like Jets minus one was like the line or something.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
But hey, again, I don't want to get into all
that stuff. But the fact that it was Packers last
week minus three and a half and then they won
thirty to twenty seven on that game winning field goal
bro wild. But yeah, I mean, Jets are still trying
to find something. And listen to listen to Rogers press
conferences this week. I watch both the postgame one and
I watched his one on Monday. They are they are,
(30:31):
They're they're feeling it right now.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
They're searching.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
They're searching.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
They're searching, is what is what they're doing out?
Speaker 2 (30:37):
You know what? I'm searching for the twenty twenty five
NFL Draft.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
That's right, because the home of the twenty twenty five
NFL Draft is right here in Green Bay. Don't miss
any draft action coming April twenty four through April twenty
six of twenty twenty five. Visit green Bay dot com
slash Draft twenty five for more information and with that
we will call it a rep on this edition Packers Unscripted.
(31:01):
Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the
team and all of our coverage of Sunday's big game
at lambeau Field Packers and Lions. We will have it
all for you on Packers dot com for Wesi Ammike.
Thank you for tuning in everybody. We will see you
next time.
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Packers dot Com. I am Lake Spofford, joined as always
by my partner in crime, Wes Hodko. It's coming to
you Hear from our studios at Lambeufield to preview Sunday's
big NFC North showdown. It's the Packers and the Lions.
It will be a three twenty five Central Time kickoff.
And Wes, that outfit of yours looks familiar.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
It does. So we had a bunch of practical jokers
at Packers dot Com by the name of Haley Helmley
and Kristen Crispy Shand that decided to work their way
into our studio, the grim at Packers Studio and try
to replicate the irreplicable. And Mike Spofford and Wes how
(01:02):
Kwitz here on Packer's Unscripted. And I want to say
this for anybody that might have caught that video. Okay,
this is how I know.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
It's on Twitter for those who are wondering.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yeah talking about Yeah. By the way, this does nothing
for anybody on the audio version of this right now, right,
But this sweater that I'm wearing that Lisa Trickle from
the Packers Pro Shop or the pro shop. She was
the one that originally picked this out for me, Duke
Bober our boss, and I'm gonna put you on blast, Duke,
I'm gonna mention your name. I'm gonna say your name.
He comes up to me and he's like, hey, you know,
(01:30):
I got a packers thing going on next week. Could
I borrow your sweater for sure? Yeah, no problem, I'm
happy to help my coworkers. And as it turns out,
he was actually lifting this so that Haley could go
and use it along with a wig that does not
look like my hair at all, maybe the twenty twelve
version of Wes Hodkowitz, but not the twenty twenty four version.
(01:51):
And they put together a little piece of business kind
of trying to mimic Packer's unscripted. I enjoyed it, but
the North remembers.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
The North remembers there was a little story behind the
shirt that Chris was wearing as well that I was
absolutely stunned when I saw that video and I saw
that shirt because that was a shirt that I had
owned long before I worked for the Green Bay Packers,
(02:27):
and at some point, just random day, I wore it
and Tyler Gayeski from our video department. He was an
intern at the time. This is long before you even
showed up here. Tyler's been full time for like fifty Yes,
this is when Tyler was an intern. And I ended
up gifting the shirt to Tyler. It's a rather loud,
(02:53):
obnoxious it's a nineties type yeah, Okay, Zach Morris would.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Have worn that.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah, And Tyler was enamored with the shirt. So when
he was an intern, I gifted him the shirt. Posterity sake,
Lo and behold from moving from third floor to second
floor to now where we have our temporary offices and
where the video department is down the hall, like, Tyler
(03:19):
has hung on to that shirt and it showed up
in Thepackers dot Com mock video with Kristin shand Crispy
as we call her, wearing it was I was absolutely floored.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Kristin did a good job too. She that was a
pretty good Mike Spofford she did.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
She did do a pretty good job.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Yes, credit to them.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
The shirt is what really made the made the effort
rather noteworthy for me. Anyway back to business though, but
there's a big football game youhu jump at lambeau Field
Sunday afternoon Packers against the Lions. Green Bay is six
and two in second place in the NFC North to
Troit is six and one, sitting on top of the division.
(04:03):
Before we dig into the Lions and how they got
to that six and one record, a quick update on
the Packers' injury situation. Things still rather murky and uncertain
at particular spots. Quarterback Jordan Love did not practice on
Wednesday due to the groin injury, but he did speak
with the media and say he definitely and he definitely
(04:26):
wants to play, and he feels it's realistic that he
could be he could play on Sunday. Possibly even if
he's unable to practice all week, he still might be
able to play on Sunday. So that will certainly be
something monitored throughout the week and all the way up
until those inactives are turned in ninety minutes before kickoff.
Perhaps running back Josh Jacobs, who left the Jacksonville game
(04:49):
right at the very end with the ankle bothering him,
he says he'll be good to go. He wasn't practicing Wednesday,
but he's saying it's just body maintenance. He'll be good
to go come Sunday afternoon. A lot less that we
know about cornerback Jay r Alexander and safety Evan Williams.
Neither was practicing on Wednesday. Didn't really hear from either guy,
(05:15):
and really very much in weight and see mode on
that as far as as far as the defense is concerned,
and there's there's potentially all kinds of different scenarios of
how the Packers go about this game in their secondary
if they get one of those guys back or both
of them, or if neither is able to play. So
(05:35):
a lot of question marks there. Going up against a
high powered Detroit Lions offense.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Detroit Lions offense man is something to behold, and watching
how they've adjusted and how they've adapted and how they've
grown over the last three years has been I give
them a lot of credit. They've drafted well. Dan Campbell
has instituted a mentality and instilled the philosophy and the
toughness into that football team. And every single year he's
been there, that team has gotten better and better and better.
(06:01):
So the Green Bit Packers have to match that. A
lot will be made this week and you and I
will probably talk about it. Some today still about what
exactly is going to happen to Green Bay on the
offensive side of the ball, Who's going to be under center,
what is going to have to happen for the Packers
to be successful. This game really does hinge though, on
the Packers' defense being able to answer everything that Detroit
is going to throw at them, because they have arguably
(06:21):
the best backfield in the game, certainly one of the
best two hundred and two headed tandems in professional football
right now in Jamier Gibbs and David Montgomery. Aman Rossain
Brown is a legitimate superstar. Sam Laporta has proven me wrong.
He was one of the guys that I had a
big question mark about when he was coming out, if
he had the size, if he was going to be
able to be the complete player they needed him to be.
(06:42):
He has been that and then some. And then when
Jared Goff is completing passes at almost a seventy five
percent clip, that means things are going pretty well for
your offense. They've been efficient, they've been explosive, they've been dangerous,
and the Packers have a supreme challenge in front of them.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Yeah, it's a big time challenge. The Lions have won
five in a row, a one on one start, and
really the last four games is where we've seen their
team kind of take off. They're averaging forty three points
per game over their last four games in that stretch.
I don't have the numbers in front of me exactly,
but it's like Jared Goff has thrown almost as many
(07:18):
touchdown passes as incomplete pass yeah, or something like that
over the last four games. Statistically, he has a one
hundred and fifty five passer rating over the last four games.
That's a month of football with a one to fifty
five passer rating. His passer rating on the season is
one fifteen, which is impressive enough. You mentioned the two
headed monster in the backfield, Gibbs and Montgomery. Their carries
(07:41):
have been almost exactly split. I believe there's only one
kre different between the two of them. Gibbs is the
you know, the speedster, the home run hitter. Montgomery is
the power back. But either one of these guys can
do whatever you ask of them in the backfield in
terms of, you know, whether it's catching passes, whether it's
(08:02):
picking up blitzes, whether it's inside runs or outside runs.
I'm on Ross Saint Brown. He has forty one receptions
this season, which is actually more than twice as many
as anybody else on the Lions. He's clearly the go
to guy in the passing game. And then second in
receptions with twenty is Sam Laporta, the tight end you mentioned.
He has a fifty two yard touchdown. We're talking about, actually,
(08:26):
I mean, two of the really up and coming and
reaching the level of premiere tight ends in this league
are going to be on the field together in Sam
Laporta and Tucker Craft. You look at their statistics, you
look at their highlights, you know what they're producing for
their respective teams, and it's pretty impressive. And both of
these guys are still really young. Bottom line is the
(08:50):
Lions have just weapons across the board, and I think
what I think what makes them most dangerous is that
they've just shown the ability to score in a hurry.
They you know, you can maybe even hold them down
for a couple of possessions and then all of a sudden,
within their next five or six plays, they could score
(09:12):
two touchdowns because because they're that explosive and they can
make things happen that quickly in.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
The way they beat teams is noteworthy. I mean, you
are talking about a Tennessee Titans team that is really
struggling right now and is going through a bunch of
different things, and the Detroit Lions ran through them, like
you should that type of team go back. You know,
two weeks ago, Dallas Cowboys. Cowboys trying to get their
season right. Detroit's like, nope, we got this. They wanted
(09:39):
down to the wire football game, you know against the
Minnesota Vikings thirty one to twenty nine. They're just so
darn consistent in everything that they do. Now there has
been adversity. Jamison Williams is suspended for this game. Still
had that issue, I believe with the performance substance, performance
enhancing variety. I believe it was two games suspension for him.
(10:00):
Aiden Hutchinson goes down with it. You know, the devastating
leg injury. Defensively, that's been something they're going to have
to make up for here the rest of the year.
They don't have a guy that necessarily just fits into
that power pass rushing mode that they're going to have
to deal with. But as a collective, a team that
got so close to the Super Bowl last year has
picked up right where it left off and has really
(10:22):
showed that we are still on the incline and we
still are very much in contention for that Super Bowl championship.
That's a little to them for so long.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Yeah, absolutely they are. They have. They've taken the field
through this first half of twenty twenty four look looking
like a team on a mission, knowing that that they
let it get away last season in San Francisco in
that NFC Championship game. You mentioned Hutchinson on the defensive side,
(10:49):
he is out for the remainder of at least the
regular season based on what we're hearing he has. He
had seven and a half sacks before he went down,
was on his way to potentially, you know, defensive player
of the year or certainly being in that discussion. Nobody
else on the Lions has more than two and a
half sacks at this point. But that being said, the
(11:10):
first full game without Hutchinson against the Vikings, they sacked
Sam Darnold four times, So you can't take anything for
granted here. What really sticks out to me statistically is
that this is a defense that has ten interceptions, which
matches the Packers total ten interceptions on the season, and
(11:30):
it's the safety Kirby Joseph with five of them, and
then safety Slash Nickel slot corner Brian Branch with four.
Those two guys have combined for nine out of the ten.
The Lions are plus ten in turnover margin this season.
The Packers are plus seven in turnover margin. So there's
a lot of there's a lot of when you look
(11:53):
at the numbers, sort of like something's got to give
in this game, right, because both these teams both have
six wins for a reason. But defensively, defensively, I think
where the Lions have been most vulnerable is against the pass.
They've had a lot of flags in the secondary, a
(12:13):
lot of first downs by penalty by their opponents. But
then you look at the ten interceptions and it's, you know,
so the ten interceptions they have and the way they've
taken the ball away, So it's not like you can
just say, all right, well, just let's just drop back
and throw it right yard, because these guys will find
ways to make plays.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
And Branch is one of those guys. Mike, This happens
every once in a while in the National Football League,
where someone is considered a top draft pick and he
falls for whatever reason, it ends up being a second rounder.
And I think so many people made such a big
deal about his safety position when it was like the
Detroit Lions, kudos to them. They're like, no, this is
a nickel cornerback that could be an explosive player in
this league and they've reaped an ultimate reward with him
(12:53):
falling into their lap where they did Kirby Joseph a
good third round pick from him a number of years ago.
I was telling you before we started the show, I
can't believe he's already up to twelve interceptions or whatever
it is in his career. Yeah, certainly he made a
big coming out party in twenty twenty two with his
interception off Aaron Rodgers in that finale against green Bay
to really solidify that victory for the Lions and knock
the Packers out of the playoffs, securing that winning season
(13:15):
finally that Detroit had been chasing at that time. And
again they've just gotten better and better. But between Hutchinson's injury,
between what's happened with Marcus Davenport, there is an issue
there as far as their edge rush is concerned. That's
one area where green Bay does need to take advantage.
Whether it is Jordan Love or whether it is Malik Willis,
the dangers are different without those two guys on the field,
especially in Hutchinson's case, who had seventeen quarterback hits at
(13:38):
the time in which he got injured, the seven and a.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Half sacks of the prest five games or four and
a half games or whatever it was.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Yeah, he was constantly on top of the quarterback and
for him to be gone, now that's something that they're
gonna have to deal with. But you know what, Mike, again,
another testament to the way they play. They are a
complete three phase football team. You look at last week
with Kalise Fraeman, was that, believe the NFC Special Teams
Player of the week.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
That's what I was going to bring up with what
they're doing in the return game right now too. Khalif
Raymond takes a punt ninety yards for a touchdown. I
believe it was against the Titans. As you said, he's
the reigning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, and
they had a big kickoff return as well, seventy plus yards.
And the first name escapes me, but his last name
is Dorsey. John Dorsey, Yeah, John Dorsey, good old friend,
(14:23):
but il Dorsey. So they have a ninety yard punt
return and a seventy yard kickoff return in the same game.
I mean again, just other examples of the explosiveness of
the players that they have on the field and the
way they can the way they can turn a game
on its head so quickly. Because a couple different things
(14:46):
to look at here. When they beat the Vikings in Minneapolis,
they felt but the Lions fell behind ten to nothing
out of it eating that game, and they didn't blink,
they didn't flinch, and they ended up they ended up
needing a field goal right at the end to win.
But that was because of a fumble by David Montgomery
in the fourth quarter that the Vikings scooped and scored,
(15:07):
you know, ran the other wave to surprisingly retake the lead.
But they're down ten to nothing on the road division rival,
you know, Minnesota Vikings, and you know they you know,
they ended up outscoring them. I believe it was like
twenty eight to seven through like the second and third
quarters of that game last week against the Titans, that
(15:27):
game is fourteen to fourteen in in the early stages.
At some point in the first half there it's fourteen
all and the next thing you know, the Lions have
ripped off twenty eight or thirty five straight points or
whatever it is, and the game turns into a blowout.
So these guys can These guys can change games in
a hurry, I guess, is what my point is.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
And to get back as far as the special teams too,
they're just they're really solid. I think Jack Fox is
one of my favorite punters in the league. He's been
an All Pro before in this time, he's one of
the guys when you watch him, his ball placement is
just extraordinary. And then Jake Bates has gone in there
and I think as eleven for eleven on the season
after everything he did during the XFL year. Again, they're
very complete. We'll talk about in a minute here. There's
(16:09):
opportunities for the Packers to win this game, but the
challenges and the need to be you know, dial into
your details is so so critical to being able to
defend a team like this.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Yeah, well that was what's next on my list is Okay,
we've gone over all these things that the Lions do
well and why they are six and one and sitting
on top of the NFC North and in fact kind
of the team right now that most people are pegging
as the team to beat in the NFC in general.
So what are the keys to victory for Green Bay?
What do the Packers need to do to come out
(16:42):
on top in this one?
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Survive the second quarter? I don't know. You dig into
this stuff a lot. You look at the stat sheet.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
I did see those numbers. It's like one hundred and
two points to like twenty twenty seven, twenty seven.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Okay, So what Detroit does is, I mean they start
and it's kind of almost like a fighter sort of
finding his range, and then they hammer you in the
second quarter, and you know, you look at their their
ebbs and flows, I mean it's thirty eight, one hundred
and two sixty five twenty three. Like there is sort
of this pattern as far as when they're striking. But
(17:15):
that is where they've won a lot of these games,
is they've taken the souls of a lot of teams
in that second quarter and going into halftime and really
making them question everything. They talk so much about the
point differential in the NFC North and in how extraordinary
that has been to this point, and the fact that
all four of these teams are actually in the plus
area if I remember correctly, and the Allions are like
(17:35):
plus one sixteen. I mean, they are just getting out
and dominating teams, but there are opportunities. They're strange anomalies
with this team, the fact that they're minus one sixteen
and the penalty differential, the fact that you know they've
had some moments there where teams have been able to
put points on them and they've been able to have
success against them. But when you're getting hit with waves
of offense like the Relions have done, which again with
(17:58):
a few exceptions, are their top ten and pretty much
everything top five in a lot, that's ultimately what pushes
the tempo of a football game. No matter what it's
about points, it's about touchdowns. And the Detroit Lions, with
how efficient Jared Goff has been playing at an MVP
caliber level to this point, it's been really hard to
knock them off their spot. The Packers have to do that, though.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Yeah, and I think for me, for me, this game
comes down to the explosive play ratio or the explosive
play equation. Both of these offenses, the Packers and the Lions,
they make big plays a lot You know, taking chunksy
yard it's twenty five yards here, thirty five yards there.
The Packers have to win that ratio in this game.
(18:40):
I don't think you. I don't think you're going to
stop the Lions from being able to make explosive plays.
But the more times that you can make them grind
out a twelve or thirteen play drive in order to score,
that's just where you give the defense more opportunities to
possibly get whether it's that pass deflection or punch the
(19:00):
ball out, or somebody gets a really good rush and
either gets the hit on the quarterback or the really
good rush that leads to a holding penalty and then
puts them behind the sticks, and then you have a chance.
But if they're going to take thirty and forty yard
chunks of the field on a regular basis, your defense
is not going to have a chance to do that.
And conversely, offensively, the Packers, in a lot of ways,
(19:23):
they live and die by the explosive play. When the
Packers get an explosive play, they score points on the
drive more often than not. I'd say it's probably ninety
to ninety five percent of the time. So the Packers
still have to be able to do what they do
against this defense and take chunks of the field at
the end of the game. If we're looking at the
place of twenty plus yards and the Packers are, the
(19:44):
Packers make more of them than the Lions than I
like Green Bay's chances to win this football.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
In whatever yards they can't get against the run. I
mean defensively, the Lions, they've been really good as far
as teams and what they're rushing and their averages are.
But if you dig into that a little bit more,
it's because so many teams have had to throw from
being behind their fifth and run defense right now, but
they're twenty second in yards per rush, and if you
look at it with the passing game, yes, teams have
(20:10):
put up some passing yards because they've had to. If
you can establish the run and get into your offensive rhythm,
especially if it ends up being Malik Willis as your
starting quarterback in this thing, if Jordan can't go, that
is going to be absolutely critical. One of the things
that Packers have done really well Mike in all of
these appearances, maybe with the exception of the final play
there that Willis had to come in Brazil, but his
(20:32):
three games where he basically helped them win the game. Right,
They've been able to manage possessions at a premium. Every
single possession has had meaning for the most part. That
has to continue against Detroit. If you're going to be
able to hang in there with the punch just that
they're going to throw against you.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Yeah, and the other thing too, because we know this
is a Lions team that doesn't turn the ball over
much that I was actually looking at. The Packers have
gone five consecutive games without having a turnover free game. Offensively, offensively,
slash special teams. You cannot turn the ball over in
this game. You may not be able to win the
turnover battle, but you have to be able to get
(21:10):
out of this game at worst at zero zero in
the turnover takeaway department. Because seeing the Packers only have
the one giveaway last week on the interception in the
red zone, that was certainly a step in the right direction.
And as we've seen with Malik Willis he in all
the time that he has been playing in place of
Jordan Love, he does not put the ball in harm's way.
(21:33):
He's done a remarkable job of protecting the football. But
whether it's whether it's love or willis it feels like
this game has to be a zero giveaway game. Yep
for green Bay. Regardless of what the defense is able
to do in the takeaway department, the Packers absolutely cannot
have a turnover. You know.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
The other thing that has happened to green Bay has
to win on third downs because the Detroit Lions are
the best in ball right now defensively on third downs. Again,
that goes with a lot of teams to throw against him.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
But you what is the they're allowing is it? Is
it thirty percent or just under right right at right
at thirty percent? Thirty percent conversions on a third down
against that defense, It's a It's a tough one to
move the chains. I'll take care of some sponsor business here.
Wes Serious XMNFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up
to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need.
(22:23):
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Speaker 2 (22:44):
We should ever do the draft?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Will imitate me? So well?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Yeah, ever do the draft one? Like literally remember that
when Matt Arvin had micd up coon that one time
and he came in and did on scripture with us
that one time. Yeah, yeah, she have Kristen just come
in with yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Just ever come in. She can do the she can
do the ad reads. It's week nine, yeah in the NFL.
Wes looking around at the other games that are going on.
I mean there is there is no game on the
slate in the NFL in Week nine that is bigger
than Packers and Lions at lambeau Field. But that being said,
(23:21):
there are other very interesting ones that impact the NFC
in general as well as the NFC North. I'm very
curious Chicago goes on the road to Arizona. I am
very curious how the Bears respond to losing a game
on a Hail Mary, because that kind of loss, and
especially with everything with you know, the one player Tyreek
(23:43):
Stevenson whose kind of head was not in the game
on the final play and all that, that's the kind
of thing that can that can really spiral things the
wrong way for a team. So can the Bears respond
to that in the appropriate way. Going out to Arizona
and playing against a Cardinals team that Kyler Murray in
that offense, they're getting some things going out.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
They're so scrappy and Marvin Harrison Junior. We talked about
it when the Packers played on I mean, it's just
such a premium talent and they've been I keep saying it.
I mentioned in last week's show. Seeing if you don't
corral Murray what he can do offensively is something to behold.
There's a lot of good scrambling quarterbacks, there's a lot
of good elusive quarterbacks. He has it all and he
(24:26):
can really will you to a victory. Chicago great test
for them defensively, but I'm with you, seeing what their
response to that game is is going to be critical.
I mean, really realistically, even though the Packers and the
Lions are the ones that are playing in the NFC
North and have these big implications both that game. Indianapolis
Colts traveling to the US Bank to face the Vikings
is also very huge too. Joe Flacco is now the
starting quarterback there.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
That was the other one I was going to bring up.
And it's interesting how that evolved because a couple of
weeks ago that game Indianapolis at Minnesota was flexed into
the Sunday night time slot. It was just going to
be a garden variety afternoon game on Sunday. Since that
game was flexed into the Sunday night slot, the Vikings
had lost back to back games. They went from five
(25:07):
to o to five and two, and Indianapolis now has
benched young quarterback Anthony Richardson for Joe Flacco. Flacco is
stepping in as the starter. It sounds like for the
long haul here, at least in terms of twenty twenty four,
probably for the rest of the season that Flacco is
going to be is going to be Indies guys. So
now all of that going on and that that game
(25:28):
is in is in prime time.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
A couple other original Sunday night game do you remember?
Speaker 1 (25:34):
I believe it was Philadelphia against Jacksonville. Oh okay, And yeah,
they with where the where things were going with the Jaguars,
the the league and the networks decided they wanted the
Vikings instead. So a couple other games though that are
some really interesting implications elsewhere in the NFC. Dallas at
(25:55):
three and four is at Atlanta. Atlanta is five and
three and sitting on top of the NFC South. Right now,
it kind of feels like we say we say this,
you know, at least once every two weeks that the
Cowboys find themselves in like a must win type of
game with what's going on with the Commanders and the
Eagles in the NFC East. If the Cowboys dropped to
(26:18):
three and five, if they lose this game and dropped
to three and five, they're really really playing uphill the
second half of the season. They're in big trouble.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Yeah, and you can seem bras you can't ever take
anything for granted year to year, and you can't always
have the masth of Okay, well this team played this
way one year, they're going to run through everybody the next.
Doesn't work like that. Cowboys have had a couple of injuries.
I think Deron Bland is back this week or at
least has had his window activated for return, So potentially
maybe that gives you a left here, But they just
(26:46):
they are a team searching for something right now. Also,
this has been another lesson in why I wrote the
story on Chris Brooks. This week, we've talked about Josh
Jacobs investing into your backfield and understanding the value of
having your or your franchise back, whether it's a young guy,
whether it's not. The Cowboys are a great example of
how critical that is. They moved on from Zeke, they
(27:07):
went with Tony Pollard for a year, they let Pollard go,
and then they brought Zeke back. After kind of a
lackluster year in New England. Their running game has been
in shambles this year too. Dak has not had that
compliment that I think he needs in an offense to
really have those explosive plays present themselves. In the Atlanta Falcons,
as much as we've talked about the Vikings and all
the free agent signings they've made, the Falcons really have
(27:27):
kind of pushed all in in terms of bringing in
all these types of guys. I think Justin Simmons had
come in late, like they had all these different players
that they had signed, veterans that have been in the
league seven eight years, and it took some time to
take and Kirk Cousins has been very up and down
this season. Yeah, but when they're on they're on and this,
by no means is an easy one for the Dallas
Cowboys trying to go into Mercedes Benz and get a victory.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Yeah. Absolutely. The Falcons won a big one in their
division last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which is why.
And that was on the road. Actually, the Buccaneers were
wearing the old cream Sickle uniforms and the Falcons knocked
them off down there in Tampa. So that's why the
Falcons are sitting on top of that division. And now
they're back home against the Cowboys. Out in the NFC West,
(28:10):
the Los Angeles Rams, a team that is maybe starting
to find itself here. They're getting the receivers back. We
talked about that and the impact that had and beating
the Minnesota Vikings last Thursday night. The Rams are three
and four. They are at Seattle going up against a
Seahawks team that is four and four. Four and four
is the top of the NFC West right now, multiple
(28:32):
teams with that record and Seattle trying to figure things
out after being at home last week against Buffalo. Buffalo
flies all the way across the country and walks into
Seattle's normally difficult stadium, and just absolutely took it to
the Seahawks and that game was it was almost like
(28:53):
it was never even a contest. Buffalo completely dominated.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
And now they got to deal with Cup and they
got to deal with Nikua Yea and that changes everything.
We saw it in that game against the Vikings. Rams
are totally different with those two dudes on the field.
Everything improves when they're out there. Seattle's an other team
has been up and down. You know, DK Metcalf potentially
getting healthier. But I mean, the fact is is that
when you're looking at a division right now where so
many and again Arizona Cardinals at four and four is
(29:18):
sitting at top right now for whatever reason, if the
season ended after eight weeks, they would be the team
in the playoffs right now. Out of this whole equation, Yeah,
every win in that division is critical, So how that plays,
it'll be interesting. In addition to the fact that for
the sixth time in nine weeks, the New York Jets
are in primetime tonight.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Is that what is that?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
What is six times? Six times in nine.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Weeks and they are one of the worst teams in
football right now?
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Yeah, Like I will say this about the networks they
completely loaded up on Aaron Rodgers in the first two
months of the season, like they were like, all right,
all our chips are in on that, but.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Here we are all and gambling is always illegal at Bushwood.
But did I hear correctly that Vegas actually has the
Jets favored over the Texans tonight? It's like it's like
by one point or something like that.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
They are at home. But it's weird.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
It's like Jets minus one was like the line or something.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
But hey, again, I don't want to get into all
that stuff. But the fact that it was Packers last
week minus three and a half and then they won
thirty to twenty seven on that game winning field goal
bro wild. But yeah, I mean, Jets are still trying
to find something. And listen to listen to Rogers press
conferences this week. I watch both the postgame one and
I watched his one on Monday. They are they are,
(30:31):
They're they're feeling it right now.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
They're searching.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
They're searching.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
They're searching, is what is what they're doing out?
Speaker 2 (30:37):
You know what? I'm searching for the twenty twenty five
NFL Draft.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
That's right, because the home of the twenty twenty five
NFL Draft is right here in Green Bay. Don't miss
any draft action coming April twenty four through April twenty
six of twenty twenty five. Visit green Bay dot com
slash Draft twenty five for more information and with that
we will call it a rep on this edition Packers Unscripted.
(31:01):
Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the
team and all of our coverage of Sunday's big game
at lambeau Field Packers and Lions. We will have it
all for you on Packers dot com for Wesi Ammike.
Thank you for tuning in everybody. We will see you
next time.
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