October 16, 2025 • 32 mins
Mike and Wes preview the road trip to Arizona, looking at the Cardinals’ QB uncertainty (3:21), their top players on offense (6:01) and defense (8:33), and the Packers’ keys to victory (11:20). They also glance at other notable Week 7 matchups (25:09).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always
by my partner at Everything Packers, Wes Hodkowitz. Coming to
you hear from our studios at Landboufield to preview Sunday's
Packers game against the Arizona Cardinals. It will be a
three to twenty five pm Central Time kickoff from Glendale,
(00:29):
Arizona and Wes. This Cardinals team is two and four,
but I'm gonna rattle off a bunch of numbers to
you right now. Sixteen to fifteen at San Francisco, twenty
three to twenty against Seattle, twenty two to twenty one
against Tennessee, and thirty one to twenty seven at Indianapolis.
(00:50):
Those are the opponents and scores the last four weeks.
As the Cardinals are on this four game losing streak,
they have found every way imaginable to lose games in
which they had victory within their grasp. This is not,
in my opinion, it's it is a two and four
football team, but it's not a two and four football team.
(01:10):
This is a squad that is much closer to being
at the top of the NFC than it is to
the bottom based on how they have played most of
the time.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah, for sure, Mike, and I also think the biggest
lesson you can take from this isn't necessarily the opponent
that the Green bit Packers are going to face when
they walk into that stadium on Sunday. It's another example
of just how difficult it is to win in this league,
and really the narrow margin between you know, the best
teams in the league and the ones that are taking
(01:42):
up you know, the back end of this thing. Look
at it this way, right, four teams the NFC have
losing records, Arizona's among them. The other twelve or five
hundred are better. Again, we're early in this thing. There's
a long way to go. But I think when you
look at the Cardinals injuries that they've dealt with this season,
particularly in the backfield, we're both Trey Benson and John
(02:03):
Connor are out. Connor's not coming back this year. He's
their usually their lead dog. Marvin Harrison has the concussion
last week. Kyler Murray misses that game as well. There's
so many things that in addition to these very narrow
losses that have kind of been working against them. But
at the end of the day, you are what your
record says, and I take that lesson to what the
(02:24):
Packers have accomplished at this point this year. This is
why you just the only thing you can work on
or worry about is winning that game in letting the
record speak for itself. Because right now the Cardinals are
who we.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Thought they were. That's okay, that's not bad though.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
I just realized midway through that that was Danny Green
when he was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yes it was. You weave that in there very nicely.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
But know what jumps out to me is not just
these close scores and looking at the details of these
games and how they've lost them, but three of the
opponents they've lost to in these last four weeks nine,
the Seahawks and the Colts. These are all teams that
have either four or five wins on the season. I mean,
they have been really close to beating good teams and
(03:10):
they're looking at the Packers coming in another good team,
and this Cardinal squad is going to give is going
to give Green Bay everything it can handle. There is
uncertainty at the quarterback position. Kyler Murray has been dealing
with a foot injury. Apparently he's been listed as limited
injury report as far as his practice participation this week.
(03:32):
Jacobe Burssett took over for Murray last week. They became,
in a lot of ways a different offense. Brissett ends
up throwing for three hundred and twenty yards against the
Indianapolis Colts on the road, and that's one hundred yards
more than Murray has thrown four in any game so
far this season. And it does present a challenge, as
(03:55):
you've mentioned in some of your writings this week, it
does present a challenge for the Packer defense because it's
not just oh, okay, there might be, you know, two
different guys who could start at quarterback, but it's two
guys who play the game in a very very different way,
and that does become a challenge. And you know, I'm
guessing that we may not hear for quite a while
(04:18):
yet exactly what the decision is going to be at quarterback,
because it's to the Cardinals benefit to keep the Packers guessing.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I'm guessing it's fee of those things that Adam Scheffer
is gonna be tweeting out at like two in the
morning yesday.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
How that goes these days?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Listen, I've said it for years, man, I'll never forget
sitting in mcgeorge's into peer watching while eating wings. Jacoby
Brissett make his first start for the New England Patriots
in a pinch, in a very big pinch where they
were missing not only Tom Brady, but I believe also
Jimmy Garoppolo in that game, and he shined. And if
(04:53):
you look at his career numbers, Brissett's a guy that
has always been sort of on the cusp of being
a starting quarterback in this league, but never really truly
got the opportunity sometimes where it's like, Okay, we're signing you,
you're the guy for five weeks and then there's a
draft pick or somebody else we're going to turn to.
But in that game, it showed you why the Cardinals
(05:14):
wanted to add him this year. You see what he
brings to that team and to throw for three hundred
and twenty yards two touchdowns. I mentioned the statistic when
we were doing our three Things video. Those are numbers
that Kyler Murray has posted once in the last three years. Now.
Murray adds a lot as a runner too. Yeah, but
it just shows you the dichotomy there between their two
(05:34):
playing styles. This is not a situation where you had
RG three backing up Lamar Jackson. This is a completely
different type of quarterback. So, as Evan Williams was talking
to us about in the locker room, the Packers didn't
exactly have their their scout jerseys figured out yet, so
there was a lot of the players going back to
the coaches being like, okay, wait, so which quarterback is
this depending on what their scheme was in what they
(05:56):
were preparing for because of how different they are. Murray,
if he does play, that's their leading rusher this season.
He's the only guy with over one hundred rushing yards
at all that's currently on the active roster. And then
in addition to the fact that they lost Connor, they
lost Benson Amari Demarcato. He also went out last week,
who was sort of there. One of the guys that
(06:17):
was factoring into that with Bam Knight.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
And Marcato was the guy who had like the seventy
yard run against Tennessee where then he lets go of
the ball before the goal line, and that play was
one of a couple that ended up costing him a
victory there against the Titan.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, and I think I honestly think it might have
been his only touch last week that he ended up
getting injured on. So it's just been a lot that
the Cardinals has been weathering early this season. You know,
Marvin Harrison Junior was kind of in the crosshairs a
little bit because the drop issues, the drops that turned
in interceptions. It again, it just shows you how narrow
(06:52):
that that is. And in some of the hallmarks too
that made this Cardinals offense really good hadn't been there.
Trey McBride hasn't been the same type of prolific red
zone player, touchdown target that he'd been last year. He's
still getting some yards, he's still obviously their top playmaker,
but does everything's just to tick off in as much
respect as we do show and we should show to
(07:14):
the Cardinals and how they played across the board, it's
a pretty average group. I mean, offensively they're in the twenties.
Defensively they're in the twenties. There isn't one for turnover margin,
they're at zero. There isn't like one thing that they're
doing particularly well. So when you're not having success in
one big area. When it comes down to crunch time,
(07:35):
you can kind of see why they found themselves in
these positions to get picked off.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Yeah, well you mentioned the two weapons. They're two biggest
weapons in the passing game. Marvin Harrison Junior and then
tight end Trade McBride. Now Harrison, to our knowledge, is
in the concussion protocol, but he was listed as a
limited participant in practice so he could be on his
way back and be available on Sunday. Up the numbers
(08:00):
Harrison and McBride combined so far this year fifty nine catches,
six hundred and eighty five yards, four touchdowns. That is
pretty close to half of all of their passing production.
Whether it's been Brissett or Murray at quarterback, those two
guys account for about half of what they do through
(08:21):
the air. So it's it's pretty obvious where you, you know,
target your defensive resources against this offense. On the defensive
side of the ball, Josh Sweat five sacks, but really,
the I think kind of the straw that stirs the
(08:41):
drink on defense for them is the ageless wonder Kalaeis Campbell,
who has three sacks but is far and away their
leader in pressures quarterback pressures so far this year. Now,
take nothing away from from Buddha Baker, the safety back there.
He's also a big piece of that defense. He doesn't
have any interceptions so far this year. You know he's
out there hunting for one, So keep an eye on
(09:03):
Buddha Baker as well. But man kalais Campbell. That guy
just I mean, what is he now? Thirty nine?
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Thirty nine years old?
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Thirty nine and he just keeps getting it done every year.
Wherever he's playing, this guy is a factor in the
middle of anybody's defense, on the interior of the defensive line.
He's he's just a flat out tough customer.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
In no disrespect to Kalayas at all. The guy was
incredibly effective here the last three seasons yet both and
I mean when he stops in Baltimore, Atlanta, and Miami.
But when he went back to Arizona this year, it
kind of felt like it was going to be that
retirement tour signing, right when guys go back home. I mean,
(09:47):
this guy is obviously like an Arizona Cardinals Hall of
Fame or absolute legend, and everyone thought he'd signed late
when he went to Jacksonville and then he just kept
producing and producing. But here he is now at nine
quarterback hits three sacks at a position that isn't always
known for that type of production. This is a guy
now in his career is over one hundred and ten
(10:08):
career sacks over the course of this thing, a journey
that began for him in two thousand and eight, and
probably the thing that's most impressive to me two hundred
and what is he up to now? Two hundred and
sixty six games played in the NFL regular season. I mean,
defensive football players do not do that. We talked a
lot about Mercedes in the run that he got in
(10:28):
at tight end. But for Campbell to be doing this
at this level and staying healthy throughout most of it
and still being that prolific, I mean, they only built
a couple human beings like him.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
I don't have any lists in front of me, unfortunately,
but I would like to know how many interior defensive
linemen in the history of the NFL have hit triple
digit sacks, have hit one hundred sacks in their career.
I mean he might be at that. I don't know,
he might be at the top of the list, I
mean Aaron Donald. I don't know where Aaron Donald ended up.
He probably is, you know, the guy at the top.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Of the Donald ended up at He ended up at
one to eleven.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
So Campbell's Campbell's right there.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Campble's thirty six in all right, like in NFL since
nineteen two NFL history.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Yeah, I mean, just a remarkable player. All right, Well,
let's jump right into it. Keys to victory here for
the Green Bay Packers on Sunday again. It will be
a three to twenty five Central Time kickoff from Glendale, Arizona.
What jumps to the forefront of your mind, Wes when
(11:34):
it comes to what it will take for the Packers
to leave the desert with a four one on one record.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
You know, we close the show on two zero. Was like,
I had some stuff I wanted to say about the defense.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
We kind of ran out of time. I'm going to
bring it back to that a little bit. Let's go.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah, I don't know how Jeff Hafley sorts it out.
And I am not a coach. I'm not a defensive coach.
I think Eddrin Cooper's having a fantastic season. I think,
you know, Xavier McKinney is a very important player on
the safety in the back end. I just my thing
has been, I wonder if there's ways to get them closer.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
To the football.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
The difficult balance that Green Bay is trying to strike
right now is you got two guys and Kay Walker
and Eddrin Cooper who can both get after the quarterback. Yeah,
but you also now have Micah Parsons. You have a
guy and Rashan Gary who could play eighty percent of
the snaps easy on the edge. You're currently without Devonte
(12:31):
Wyatt inside, so you're losing some of your interior pass rush.
With opportunities in understanding that you're most of the time
going to be rushing Parsons, you're going to be rushing Gary.
I wonder what opportunities are out there for Green Bay
from a simulated pressure standpoint, from a safety blitz standpoint,
and trying to get you know, maybe a little out
of McKinny and Cooper in that way.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
If you can.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
I feel like there's great opportunities here for the Damn
to finally and the Packers to start getting some takeaways.
Those were two of the big catalysts for them last year.
I mean, obviously McKinney was. He had eight interceptions, but
you kind of forget how effective he was as well
at the applying pressure. I think he had a fumble recovery,
might have had a forced fumble two last season.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Yeah, I think he had a strip sack against Minnesota.
It was in the home game, if I remember.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Yeah, I just.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
You need to You don't want guys playing out of
their system, but I think there's things you can do
to help them along the way. And in both of
those guys cases, I feel like there's more we can
see from them, and I'd be really encouraged to see
it in this game. Packer's got to shut down Marvin
Harrison Junior. You know, I mentioned some of the drop issues.
He's averaging fifteen yards of catch this season. Trey McBride.
(13:44):
Is that Joe Ferguson or excuse me, Jake Ferguson, you know,
sort of guy on just another level where it's not
just that he's the dump off option, it's that he's
the Tucker Craft. I mean, he can beat you every
way that a tight end can beat you.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Yep. So you got to stop them there.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Regardless of which quarterback starts, you gotta try to limit
this run game. It's the Packers number one ranked run
defense against an offense that has really struggled to run
the ball in the traditional sense this season. Green Bay
has all these different variables that I think they have
to do defensively to win. But at the end of
the day, there's two teams in the last seventeen years
that have been over a seven hundred winning percentage through
five games and had two or fewer inner takeaways. It's
(14:24):
Green Bay this year, and it's the Giants in two
thousand and eight. So, and the Giants had a great
year that year. They won twelve games.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Yeah, but they were the number one seed I believe
in the NFC that year they were.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
They had to buy and then they lost the divisional round. Yeah,
so they're doing a lot of things well. But I
just as I wrote it inside Rimbacks, I feel like
that first takeaway could go a long way for the
Packers defense. Xavier McKinney, Drin Cooper, I feel like those
are the two big conduits to make that happen. I
appreciate your time, have a great evening.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
No, that's I like what you said there about those
two guys, because because I think if the Packers have
two guys on the defense who can create eternal Yeah,
like those of those are the guys who come to
the to the forefront. Now, obviously a guy like Parsons
can do that too. But but with all of the
(15:12):
double teams and everything else that we've been seeing, you know,
teams are are certainly making it difficult and other guys
have to take advantage of those opportunities.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Can he the game be the refs calling holding? Maybe?
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Yeah, Like, that's a whole other discussion that. Sorry, we
know we could spend a whole episode I think on that.
But sticking on the defensive side though, I want to
I want to say this because we've been asked in
Insider Inbox. The questions have been flying in in my
midweek chat and everywhere else. What are the Packers going
(15:43):
to do? What is the counter to all of this
quick passing game, the three step drop and this and that?
Like you know, because seen it, seen it from Prescott,
saw it from the Bengals with Flacco and all this,
and and teams are finding success, or at least for
half a game, right success doing it right. I don't
know what the x's and o's answer is to that,
(16:05):
I'm trusting Jeff Hafley and his staff to come up
with what those answers are. If you're asking me what
I want to see aside from a takeaway, which I
think is a big deal, and one takeaway could go
a long way. As you've said, what I want to
see from the Packers defense in this game if they
are going to give up a long drive for a touchdown,
(16:26):
which may or may not happen, but if it happens,
if the Cardinals at some point go seventy five yards
down the field and get a touchdown, I want to
see the defense respond on the next drive and not
let things snowball, not suddenly feel like that opposing offense
is in a rhythm. They can't be stopped like what's
going on out there. That's been the issue in the
(16:47):
second halves of these last two games is that you're
sitting there watching and going, where did the Packers defense go?
Nobody's asking them to pitch shutouts. You're going to give
up points in this league. Things are going to happen,
whether it's an explosive play, a call by a ref, whatever.
But if you give up a long drive for a touchdown,
you go back to the sideline, the offense goes out
(17:08):
there like figure it out and get back out there
on the next drive and be the defense. Yep, that
you expect to be the response. The resiliency is what
I want to see from the Packers defense because we
haven't It feels like we haven't seen that really since
the Cleveland game.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
I was talking actually or going on Twitter with one
of the Packer bloggers during the game on Sunday, and
good dude, I'm not trying to put him on blast,
but he'd made a comment about, you know, Packers haven't
had to stop in the second half in their last
two games. That technically is inaccurate. The first possession of
the second half in Dallas, it actually got a very
(17:46):
pivotal correct quick out and that's what allowed them to
stay in that shootout then with the Cowboys.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
But but.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
What was behind the comment is actually true. Green Bay
has had a difficult time keeping teams out of the
end zone, keeping teams off the board, forcing them to
force them into a mistake in the second half. And
it was really interesting. Again, one of the guys I
was talking about this in the locker room on Wednesday
was Evan Williams and mentioning how you know, it's a
lot of things. It's discipline, it may be conditioning, It
(18:13):
maybe different things that you know you do wear down
throughout the course of the game.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
But what's really odd.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Is the juxtaposition to last year where Green Bay's defense
had a couple times where they were slow getting out
of the gate and teams caught them in the first quarter,
and then they buckled down the rest of the game.
It shows you the difficulty in the moving targetness of
the National Football League and that it's that damn where
you're trying to put as many plugs in the wall
as you can and you're not always going to get everything.
(18:41):
I think what green Bay should feel good about is,
let's be honest, Mike, the Packers don't win that game
against Cincinnati. They don't tie in Dallas if they don't
start the way that they did. The defense has given
the offense a position when the offense has struggled early on,
to to take a ten nothing lead into halftime and
to have some opportunities to be up thirteen to two
at one point in Dallas before some stuff went against them.
(19:05):
It's about finishing better in the second half. It's about
making those adjustments. And this is I wrote it again,
Insider inbox, check it out Packers dot Com. Support our families,
the Packers right now. If they can get this together,
this is the perfect game to do so, because next
week you got Aaron Rodgers, you got the Pittsburgh Steelers,
(19:28):
one of the most experienced defenses they're going to see
all season. Yeah, this is the week to get things
back on the tracks. You give Arizona that respect, but
they are two and fourteen. This is the week to
figure some stuff.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Out offensive side of the ball, A key to victory.
Something jump out to you.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
What do you think you touched on it?
Speaker 2 (19:45):
I think when you look at the opportunistic nature right
now of green Bay, they gotta have them situations. That's
where green Bay has been so good this season. Again,
I said it on Tuesday Show. You're not always going
to be able to hang your hat on that. There's
going to be times you're not going to convert on
third and long. But the guys that have stepped up
are not just Romeo Dobbs and Josh Jacobs and Tucker Craft.
(20:08):
It's been the Matthew Goldens it's been the guys that
you know are just new to this thing, but are
looking wise beyond their years. That excites me a lot.
I think there's big play potential in this game. The
Packers protect the football. I think this team, the Packers
are built to battle the Cardinals in any capacity that
(20:29):
they want to. But I feel like we've seen some
real strides here with how they finished the game in
Dallas and then how they responded against Cincy. I think
you're seeing the firepower there a little bit.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Yeah. The gotta have it nature of the way this
Packers offense has been able to come through in clutch situations,
drive after drive after drive in the last two games,
is you know, if there is an early identity to
the offense. I think that's what it is. I wrote
a little bit about that on Packers dot com if
you want to check out that story. What I want
(20:58):
to see as far as a key to victory is
I want to see this offense and it starts with
Jordan Love, but it involves everybody. I want to see
this offense eliminate that one bad play that has happened
each of the last three weeks, the interception in Cleveland,
the stripsack in Dallas and the early interception against Cincinnati,
because as much as it was nice for the Packers
(21:19):
to be up ten to nothing at the half against
the Bengals, they should have been up thirteen or sixteen
or seventeen to nothing or something. You know, the ten
to nothing was actually not good enough for how they
had moved the football, and the interception on that opening
drive was was that one bad play? Now, And I'm
not saying, you know, they're okay the Cardinals might you know,
(21:40):
get a sack, whether it's sweat or campbell or whatever.
I'm not saying that there won't be any negative plays
in the game. But something that really ranks as a
really bad play, that's what they got to get rid
of because it's happened each of the last three games,
and it's had a massive impact on how things have
unfolded the rest of the way from that point on,
if you know what I'm.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Saying, excellent point, yeah, for sure. And I think one
thing that can help them too is and we'll have
to see exactly again get through the week here, but
the Packers finally did see their preferred starting five out
there in some capacity. Obviously, Sean Ryan was integrated with
that right guard spot, although Jordan Morgan, the former first
round pick, played predominantly there throughout the game. But you
(22:19):
got Rashid Walker out there, you know, playing through you
know his was it a quad trying to remember exactly
what he had. Then you have Aaron Banks has had
the growing issues. And then in Zach Tom whose really
sounds like he's going through it right now with the
oblique and also the back did not practice on Wednesday.
But if he can keep toughing it out, if Aaron
Banks can stretch some games together, I thought you started
(22:40):
to see the potential in this offensive line, not only
with how they protected Jordan Love, but also just how
they blocked for Josh Jacobs in the run game. Josh
had said afterwards he was feeling under the weather in
that game. But the fourteen yard touchdown run, he had said,
it probably was one of the best blocked plays he's
ever had.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Yeah, he even it was funny.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
If I don't know if he caught the mic up,
he remarked to us in the locker room, he actually
also set it on.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
His micro right, he said it on the micd up,
I could have fallen down and gotten up and still
scored on that because it was blocked, so well.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Yeah, it was just I mean, if you watch it,
it's a great play that the seal between Elton Jenkins
and then also Jordan Morgan had a tremendous block really
powered his guy on the right side allowed that alley
there for Josh Jacobs. The Packers hold a significant advantage
going into this game and their run offense, run defense
against what Arizona presents, that is going to be a
big thing as well.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Yeah, I thought the Packers offensive line was It felt
like the play was a little bit up and down
as the game started against the Bengals, but then as
the game war on, I felt that unit, that starting
five really really settled in and the blocking on the
touchdown drive, the touchdown run by Jacobs in the second
half was a perfect example of that, because as the
game went on, it felt like the only way Cincinnati
(23:51):
was getting any pressure on Jordan Love was to blitz
and Hendrickson had gone out of the game, and the Packers'
offensive line was controlling the line of scrimmage. And yeah,
the injuries are still an issue and so we'll have
to see, but if that's the starting five. If that's
the group they want. Hopefully those guys will will continue
to settle in. I want to look around the league
a little bit, but we got to pay some bills first,
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Learn more about all the wonders of what Wisconsin at
travel Wisconsin dot com Slash Wonders. Welcome back to Packers
Unscripted WES Week seven in the NFL Thursday Night Football,
We have to mention it. We don't normally talk a
lot about games that involve two AFC teams because those
results just don't really impact the Packers much. But when
(25:21):
you're talking two forty year old quarterbacks going ahead to
head on Thursday night football, it's it's worth worth to mention.
Aaron Rodgers against Joe Flacco, Pittsburgh is at Cincinnati. Pittsburgh
has clearly been the better team, but Joe Flacco has
definitely injected some life into that Cincinnati offense. And you
(25:42):
know how these short week division rivalry type games, I mean,
it always feels like anything can happen.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Yeah, I mean love excuse me, man, I'm so in
the twenty twenty five Packers. Now Aaron Rodgers going back
to the twenty twenty two Packers. You know, he had
said after the game in this game interview, they were
asking him about the North and he's like, I'm used
to the North. He's like the games in the NFC
and the AFC that in the North Division they're all
kind of like yeah, I mean they are knocked down,
(26:10):
drag out, gritty battles, and certainly he's being introduced to
that now on a six game basis here with the Steelers.
I love the fact of this matchup. I think it's
gonna be a lot of fun to watch. I'm excited
to watch it. I actually think from the Packers' perspective
that Joe Flacco game was a really good barometer a
little bit of what it's going to be like playing
(26:31):
against Rogers. I mean, Aaron is really extending plays still,
It's pretty impressive for a guy that's two months shy
of forty two years old. He's still not afraid to
scramble and get out of the pocket and work off schedule.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
You can tell he's another whole year removed from that
Achilles injury. Yeah, whereas last year there wasn't as much
mobility there because he was still trying to come back
from that.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
And almost the you're removed from having to be in
New York. Yeah, that too true.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
It's amazing when a little bit of vision can help,
you know. And also, you know, MVP quarterback out regardless
of the age. But yeah, it's gonna be a fun matchup,
and it's it's it's key.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
The Pittsburgh Steelers will be on a mini bi before
playing Green Bay in a night game in Pittsburgh, So
something to keep an eye on. In for Cincinnati, that's
a tough turnaround, especially with Hendrickson's back issue. Yeah, I'm
trying to to make that that that turnaround.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Yeah, if they don't, if they don't have Hendrickson, I'm
not sure how how they're gonna get a whole lot
of pressure on Aaron Rodgers, because I'm sure they would
like to, they would like to do that. Around the
NFC North, the Bears are hosting the Saints. I think
the Chicago Bears are probably gonna run their winning streak
to four games and be four and too. The Saints.
Saints definitely a struggling squad, but but who knows there.
(27:44):
Philadelphia is at Minnesota, and then on Monday Night Football,
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Detroit Lions. Probably the
game of the week really as far as the full
slate in the NFL your thoughts on any of those
NFC North games.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
The Lions will not have Bran Branch, who's one game
suspension was upheld by Dy Nelson.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Jordy Nelson the appeals the NFL.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
One of the NFL appeals officers who happened to get
Brian Branch's case.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
This is how I know I'm getting old. Yeah, Jordy
Nelson is.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
An appeals officer for the NFL, jointly elected in the NFLPA. Yeah,
so they're not going to have Brian Branch in this one.
This is not an opponent that you want to not
have Brian Branch on the field for Tampa can stretch
you in a number of different ways.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Well, and Detroit is dealing with other injuries in the secondary,
and so they have now the Branch suspension on top
of like Terry on Arnold and I'm the other cornerback's
name is escaping me. But they've had injuries at the
cornerback spot and now one of their starting safeties is
going to miss this game with the suspension.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
So it's a big one Monday Night football, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
I wrote an insider Inbox. That's my third plug for
Inbox today. This is I think this is the team.
This is the matchup between the team to beat for
the Green Bay Packers right now in the NFC. I
think this is going to go along way with kind
of that power rank and establishing that Philadelphia going to
Minnesota is a huge game on a number of levels.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
One.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
I don't know if you saw it, but probably some
people were remarking on Twitter, probably the most testy Kevin
O'Connell's ever been, and it's really not that testy. But
when he was asked again about the quarterback situation on Wednesday, saying,
I am it's the same answer as when I gave
you guys on Monday, we'll see. I mean, it's funny.
They're almost a victim of their own success because they
(29:29):
bring these quarterbacks in. Carson Wentz pretty much off the
scrap heap, and you know he holds his own. But
now you got JJ McCarthy coming back from this ankle
deal and didn't look great when he was out there healthy.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
What do you do?
Speaker 2 (29:43):
And it's a difficult opponent on paper that they're gonna
have to go up against in the sales.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
The Eagles coming trying to bounce back now from a
two game losing streak, but coming off of like the
mini bi Yeah, a little bit extra time for them
after losing that game to the Giants last Thursday.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
But now they're without Zadarias Smith who retired tired. So
it's just.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Two ships crossing in the night there in that matchup,
So we'll be we'll be interesting to see how that
shuffles out.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Yeah, we shall see. Well, we get to we get
to wake up bright and early out in uh Arizona
at our hotel to another London game and Wembley Stadium.
The Rams are at the Jaguars. And the only reason
I mentioned this one is because I'm looking at this
matchup going I don't know if I can figure out
where either of these two teams is headed. Yeah, you know,
(30:31):
and I know there's there's always there's always injuries, particularly
there have been injuries with the Rams and whatnot. But
but then you know, Jacksonville. I just I don't I
don't know what to I don't know what to make
of them. I don't know what to think of of
whether they're gonna be a serious contender in the AFC
or not.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
I think that answer, honestly is up to Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Oh yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Like at some point we're gonna get to a spot
here we got to decide. I mean, Trevor Lawrence is
definitely an NFL starting quarterback. There's no question about that.
He's a good quarterback. But he was the number one
overall guy a few years ago, and he was seen
as a generational can't miss prospect. Right, He's been to
the playoffs. He's also been part of some what four
(31:13):
win three win seasons.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
A bunch of coaching changes.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
He's on his third head coach, right.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
Everything else that's gone on in his career.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Yeah, so this is I think a really critical year
for him and Liam Cohen going in there had kind
of a rough start, but seems like things are sort
of trending in the right way. But yeah, the London
fans all those years they got served the Jacksonville Jaguars
during some lean years I think at a four and
two team. Now welcoming in a four and two RAMS squad.
So yeah, and there's no Formula one on Sunday morning,
(31:43):
so I'll be able to watch it.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Oh, there we go, all right.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
Austin is at night.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Oh I probably won't be able to I'll have to
wait until I get home.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
To watch that because I'll be writing.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
All right, well, I'll make sure to spoil it for you.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Thank you, I appreciate that. All right.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Well, with that, we'll call it a rap on this
edition of Packer Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of
our coverage of the team and all of our coverage
of Sunday's game from Arizona. We'll have it all for
you on packers dot com for wesiamlike 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 Mike Spofford, joined as always
by my partner at Everything Packers, Wes Hodkowitz. Coming to
you hear from our studios at Landboufield to preview Sunday's
Packers game against the Arizona Cardinals. It will be a
three to twenty five pm Central Time kickoff from Glendale,
(00:29):
Arizona and Wes. This Cardinals team is two and four,
but I'm gonna rattle off a bunch of numbers to
you right now. Sixteen to fifteen at San Francisco, twenty
three to twenty against Seattle, twenty two to twenty one
against Tennessee, and thirty one to twenty seven at Indianapolis.
(00:50):
Those are the opponents and scores the last four weeks.
As the Cardinals are on this four game losing streak,
they have found every way imaginable to lose games in
which they had victory within their grasp. This is not,
in my opinion, it's it is a two and four
football team, but it's not a two and four football team.
(01:10):
This is a squad that is much closer to being
at the top of the NFC than it is to
the bottom based on how they have played most of
the time.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah, for sure, Mike, and I also think the biggest
lesson you can take from this isn't necessarily the opponent
that the Green bit Packers are going to face when
they walk into that stadium on Sunday. It's another example
of just how difficult it is to win in this league,
and really the narrow margin between you know, the best
teams in the league and the ones that are taking
(01:42):
up you know, the back end of this thing. Look
at it this way, right, four teams the NFC have
losing records, Arizona's among them. The other twelve or five
hundred are better. Again, we're early in this thing. There's
a long way to go. But I think when you
look at the Cardinals injuries that they've dealt with this season,
particularly in the backfield, we're both Trey Benson and John
(02:03):
Connor are out. Connor's not coming back this year. He's
their usually their lead dog. Marvin Harrison has the concussion
last week. Kyler Murray misses that game as well. There's
so many things that in addition to these very narrow
losses that have kind of been working against them. But
at the end of the day, you are what your
record says, and I take that lesson to what the
(02:24):
Packers have accomplished at this point this year. This is
why you just the only thing you can work on
or worry about is winning that game in letting the
record speak for itself. Because right now the Cardinals are
who we.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Thought they were. That's okay, that's not bad though.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
I just realized midway through that that was Danny Green
when he was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yes it was. You weave that in there very nicely.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
But know what jumps out to me is not just
these close scores and looking at the details of these
games and how they've lost them, but three of the
opponents they've lost to in these last four weeks nine,
the Seahawks and the Colts. These are all teams that
have either four or five wins on the season. I mean,
they have been really close to beating good teams and
(03:10):
they're looking at the Packers coming in another good team,
and this Cardinal squad is going to give is going
to give Green Bay everything it can handle. There is
uncertainty at the quarterback position. Kyler Murray has been dealing
with a foot injury. Apparently he's been listed as limited
injury report as far as his practice participation this week.
(03:32):
Jacobe Burssett took over for Murray last week. They became,
in a lot of ways a different offense. Brissett ends
up throwing for three hundred and twenty yards against the
Indianapolis Colts on the road, and that's one hundred yards
more than Murray has thrown four in any game so
far this season. And it does present a challenge, as
(03:55):
you've mentioned in some of your writings this week, it
does present a challenge for the Packer defense because it's
not just oh, okay, there might be, you know, two
different guys who could start at quarterback, but it's two
guys who play the game in a very very different way,
and that does become a challenge. And you know, I'm
guessing that we may not hear for quite a while
(04:18):
yet exactly what the decision is going to be at quarterback,
because it's to the Cardinals benefit to keep the Packers guessing.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I'm guessing it's fee of those things that Adam Scheffer
is gonna be tweeting out at like two in the
morning yesday.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
How that goes these days?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Listen, I've said it for years, man, I'll never forget
sitting in mcgeorge's into peer watching while eating wings. Jacoby
Brissett make his first start for the New England Patriots
in a pinch, in a very big pinch where they
were missing not only Tom Brady, but I believe also
Jimmy Garoppolo in that game, and he shined. And if
(04:53):
you look at his career numbers, Brissett's a guy that
has always been sort of on the cusp of being
a starting quarterback in this league, but never really truly
got the opportunity sometimes where it's like, Okay, we're signing you,
you're the guy for five weeks and then there's a
draft pick or somebody else we're going to turn to.
But in that game, it showed you why the Cardinals
(05:14):
wanted to add him this year. You see what he
brings to that team and to throw for three hundred
and twenty yards two touchdowns. I mentioned the statistic when
we were doing our three Things video. Those are numbers
that Kyler Murray has posted once in the last three years. Now.
Murray adds a lot as a runner too. Yeah, but
it just shows you the dichotomy there between their two
(05:34):
playing styles. This is not a situation where you had
RG three backing up Lamar Jackson. This is a completely
different type of quarterback. So, as Evan Williams was talking
to us about in the locker room, the Packers didn't
exactly have their their scout jerseys figured out yet, so
there was a lot of the players going back to
the coaches being like, okay, wait, so which quarterback is
this depending on what their scheme was in what they
(05:56):
were preparing for because of how different they are. Murray,
if he does play, that's their leading rusher this season.
He's the only guy with over one hundred rushing yards
at all that's currently on the active roster. And then
in addition to the fact that they lost Connor, they
lost Benson Amari Demarcato. He also went out last week,
who was sort of there. One of the guys that
(06:17):
was factoring into that with Bam Knight.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
And Marcato was the guy who had like the seventy
yard run against Tennessee where then he lets go of
the ball before the goal line, and that play was
one of a couple that ended up costing him a
victory there against the Titan.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, and I think I honestly think it might have
been his only touch last week that he ended up
getting injured on. So it's just been a lot that
the Cardinals has been weathering early this season. You know,
Marvin Harrison Junior was kind of in the crosshairs a
little bit because the drop issues, the drops that turned
in interceptions. It again, it just shows you how narrow
(06:52):
that that is. And in some of the hallmarks too
that made this Cardinals offense really good hadn't been there.
Trey McBride hasn't been the same type of prolific red
zone player, touchdown target that he'd been last year. He's
still getting some yards, he's still obviously their top playmaker,
but does everything's just to tick off in as much
respect as we do show and we should show to
(07:14):
the Cardinals and how they played across the board, it's
a pretty average group. I mean, offensively they're in the twenties.
Defensively they're in the twenties. There isn't one for turnover margin,
they're at zero. There isn't like one thing that they're
doing particularly well. So when you're not having success in
one big area. When it comes down to crunch time,
(07:35):
you can kind of see why they found themselves in
these positions to get picked off.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Yeah, well you mentioned the two weapons. They're two biggest
weapons in the passing game. Marvin Harrison Junior and then
tight end Trade McBride. Now Harrison, to our knowledge, is
in the concussion protocol, but he was listed as a
limited participant in practice so he could be on his
way back and be available on Sunday. Up the numbers
(08:00):
Harrison and McBride combined so far this year fifty nine catches,
six hundred and eighty five yards, four touchdowns. That is
pretty close to half of all of their passing production.
Whether it's been Brissett or Murray at quarterback, those two
guys account for about half of what they do through
(08:21):
the air. So it's it's pretty obvious where you, you know,
target your defensive resources against this offense. On the defensive
side of the ball, Josh Sweat five sacks, but really,
the I think kind of the straw that stirs the
(08:41):
drink on defense for them is the ageless wonder Kalaeis Campbell,
who has three sacks but is far and away their
leader in pressures quarterback pressures so far this year. Now,
take nothing away from from Buddha Baker, the safety back there.
He's also a big piece of that defense. He doesn't
have any interceptions so far this year. You know he's
out there hunting for one, So keep an eye on
(09:03):
Buddha Baker as well. But man kalais Campbell. That guy
just I mean, what is he now? Thirty nine?
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Thirty nine years old?
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Thirty nine and he just keeps getting it done every year.
Wherever he's playing, this guy is a factor in the
middle of anybody's defense, on the interior of the defensive line.
He's he's just a flat out tough customer.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
In no disrespect to Kalayas at all. The guy was
incredibly effective here the last three seasons yet both and
I mean when he stops in Baltimore, Atlanta, and Miami.
But when he went back to Arizona this year, it
kind of felt like it was going to be that
retirement tour signing, right when guys go back home. I mean,
(09:47):
this guy is obviously like an Arizona Cardinals Hall of
Fame or absolute legend, and everyone thought he'd signed late
when he went to Jacksonville and then he just kept
producing and producing. But here he is now at nine
quarterback hits three sacks at a position that isn't always
known for that type of production. This is a guy
now in his career is over one hundred and ten
(10:08):
career sacks over the course of this thing, a journey
that began for him in two thousand and eight, and
probably the thing that's most impressive to me two hundred
and what is he up to now? Two hundred and
sixty six games played in the NFL regular season. I mean,
defensive football players do not do that. We talked a
lot about Mercedes in the run that he got in
(10:28):
at tight end. But for Campbell to be doing this
at this level and staying healthy throughout most of it
and still being that prolific, I mean, they only built
a couple human beings like him.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
I don't have any lists in front of me, unfortunately,
but I would like to know how many interior defensive
linemen in the history of the NFL have hit triple
digit sacks, have hit one hundred sacks in their career.
I mean he might be at that. I don't know,
he might be at the top of the list, I
mean Aaron Donald. I don't know where Aaron Donald ended up.
He probably is, you know, the guy at the top.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Of the Donald ended up at He ended up at
one to eleven.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
So Campbell's Campbell's right there.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Campble's thirty six in all right, like in NFL since
nineteen two NFL history.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Yeah, I mean, just a remarkable player. All right, Well,
let's jump right into it. Keys to victory here for
the Green Bay Packers on Sunday again. It will be
a three to twenty five Central Time kickoff from Glendale, Arizona.
What jumps to the forefront of your mind, Wes when
(11:34):
it comes to what it will take for the Packers
to leave the desert with a four one on one record.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
You know, we close the show on two zero. Was like,
I had some stuff I wanted to say about the defense.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
We kind of ran out of time. I'm going to
bring it back to that a little bit. Let's go.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah, I don't know how Jeff Hafley sorts it out.
And I am not a coach. I'm not a defensive coach.
I think Eddrin Cooper's having a fantastic season. I think,
you know, Xavier McKinney is a very important player on
the safety in the back end. I just my thing
has been, I wonder if there's ways to get them closer.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
To the football.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
The difficult balance that Green Bay is trying to strike
right now is you got two guys and Kay Walker
and Eddrin Cooper who can both get after the quarterback. Yeah,
but you also now have Micah Parsons. You have a
guy and Rashan Gary who could play eighty percent of
the snaps easy on the edge. You're currently without Devonte
(12:31):
Wyatt inside, so you're losing some of your interior pass rush.
With opportunities in understanding that you're most of the time
going to be rushing Parsons, you're going to be rushing Gary.
I wonder what opportunities are out there for Green Bay
from a simulated pressure standpoint, from a safety blitz standpoint,
and trying to get you know, maybe a little out
of McKinny and Cooper in that way.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
If you can.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
I feel like there's great opportunities here for the Damn
to finally and the Packers to start getting some takeaways.
Those were two of the big catalysts for them last year.
I mean, obviously McKinney was. He had eight interceptions, but
you kind of forget how effective he was as well
at the applying pressure. I think he had a fumble recovery,
might have had a forced fumble two last season.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Yeah, I think he had a strip sack against Minnesota.
It was in the home game, if I remember.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Yeah, I just.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
You need to You don't want guys playing out of
their system, but I think there's things you can do
to help them along the way. And in both of
those guys cases, I feel like there's more we can
see from them, and I'd be really encouraged to see
it in this game. Packer's got to shut down Marvin
Harrison Junior. You know, I mentioned some of the drop issues.
He's averaging fifteen yards of catch this season. Trey McBride.
(13:44):
Is that Joe Ferguson or excuse me, Jake Ferguson, you know,
sort of guy on just another level where it's not
just that he's the dump off option, it's that he's
the Tucker Craft. I mean, he can beat you every
way that a tight end can beat you.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Yep. So you got to stop them there.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Regardless of which quarterback starts, you gotta try to limit
this run game. It's the Packers number one ranked run
defense against an offense that has really struggled to run
the ball in the traditional sense this season. Green Bay
has all these different variables that I think they have
to do defensively to win. But at the end of
the day, there's two teams in the last seventeen years
that have been over a seven hundred winning percentage through
five games and had two or fewer inner takeaways. It's
(14:24):
Green Bay this year, and it's the Giants in two
thousand and eight. So, and the Giants had a great
year that year. They won twelve games.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Yeah, but they were the number one seed I believe
in the NFC that year they were.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
They had to buy and then they lost the divisional round. Yeah,
so they're doing a lot of things well. But I
just as I wrote it inside Rimbacks, I feel like
that first takeaway could go a long way for the
Packers defense. Xavier McKinney, Drin Cooper, I feel like those
are the two big conduits to make that happen. I
appreciate your time, have a great evening.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
No, that's I like what you said there about those
two guys, because because I think if the Packers have
two guys on the defense who can create eternal Yeah,
like those of those are the guys who come to
the to the forefront. Now, obviously a guy like Parsons
can do that too. But but with all of the
(15:12):
double teams and everything else that we've been seeing, you know,
teams are are certainly making it difficult and other guys
have to take advantage of those opportunities.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Can he the game be the refs calling holding? Maybe?
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Yeah, Like, that's a whole other discussion that. Sorry, we
know we could spend a whole episode I think on that.
But sticking on the defensive side though, I want to
I want to say this because we've been asked in
Insider Inbox. The questions have been flying in in my
midweek chat and everywhere else. What are the Packers going
(15:43):
to do? What is the counter to all of this
quick passing game, the three step drop and this and that?
Like you know, because seen it, seen it from Prescott,
saw it from the Bengals with Flacco and all this,
and and teams are finding success, or at least for
half a game, right success doing it right. I don't
know what the x's and o's answer is to that,
(16:05):
I'm trusting Jeff Hafley and his staff to come up
with what those answers are. If you're asking me what
I want to see aside from a takeaway, which I
think is a big deal, and one takeaway could go
a long way. As you've said, what I want to
see from the Packers defense in this game if they
are going to give up a long drive for a touchdown,
(16:26):
which may or may not happen, but if it happens,
if the Cardinals at some point go seventy five yards
down the field and get a touchdown, I want to
see the defense respond on the next drive and not
let things snowball, not suddenly feel like that opposing offense
is in a rhythm. They can't be stopped like what's
going on out there. That's been the issue in the
(16:47):
second halves of these last two games is that you're
sitting there watching and going, where did the Packers defense go?
Nobody's asking them to pitch shutouts. You're going to give
up points in this league. Things are going to happen,
whether it's an explosive play, a call by a ref, whatever.
But if you give up a long drive for a touchdown,
you go back to the sideline, the offense goes out
(17:08):
there like figure it out and get back out there
on the next drive and be the defense. Yep, that
you expect to be the response. The resiliency is what
I want to see from the Packers defense because we
haven't It feels like we haven't seen that really since
the Cleveland game.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
I was talking actually or going on Twitter with one
of the Packer bloggers during the game on Sunday, and
good dude, I'm not trying to put him on blast,
but he'd made a comment about, you know, Packers haven't
had to stop in the second half in their last
two games. That technically is inaccurate. The first possession of
the second half in Dallas, it actually got a very
(17:46):
pivotal correct quick out and that's what allowed them to
stay in that shootout then with the Cowboys.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
But but.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
What was behind the comment is actually true. Green Bay
has had a difficult time keeping teams out of the
end zone, keeping teams off the board, forcing them to
force them into a mistake in the second half. And
it was really interesting. Again, one of the guys I
was talking about this in the locker room on Wednesday
was Evan Williams and mentioning how you know, it's a
lot of things. It's discipline, it may be conditioning, It
(18:13):
maybe different things that you know you do wear down
throughout the course of the game.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
But what's really odd.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Is the juxtaposition to last year where Green Bay's defense
had a couple times where they were slow getting out
of the gate and teams caught them in the first quarter,
and then they buckled down the rest of the game.
It shows you the difficulty in the moving targetness of
the National Football League and that it's that damn where
you're trying to put as many plugs in the wall
as you can and you're not always going to get everything.
(18:41):
I think what green Bay should feel good about is,
let's be honest, Mike, the Packers don't win that game
against Cincinnati. They don't tie in Dallas if they don't
start the way that they did. The defense has given
the offense a position when the offense has struggled early on,
to to take a ten nothing lead into halftime and
to have some opportunities to be up thirteen to two
at one point in Dallas before some stuff went against them.
(19:05):
It's about finishing better in the second half. It's about
making those adjustments. And this is I wrote it again,
Insider inbox, check it out Packers dot Com. Support our families,
the Packers right now. If they can get this together,
this is the perfect game to do so, because next
week you got Aaron Rodgers, you got the Pittsburgh Steelers,
(19:28):
one of the most experienced defenses they're going to see
all season. Yeah, this is the week to get things
back on the tracks. You give Arizona that respect, but
they are two and fourteen. This is the week to
figure some stuff.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Out offensive side of the ball, A key to victory.
Something jump out to you.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
What do you think you touched on it?
Speaker 2 (19:45):
I think when you look at the opportunistic nature right
now of green Bay, they gotta have them situations. That's
where green Bay has been so good this season. Again,
I said it on Tuesday Show. You're not always going
to be able to hang your hat on that. There's
going to be times you're not going to convert on
third and long. But the guys that have stepped up
are not just Romeo Dobbs and Josh Jacobs and Tucker Craft.
(20:08):
It's been the Matthew Goldens it's been the guys that
you know are just new to this thing, but are
looking wise beyond their years. That excites me a lot.
I think there's big play potential in this game. The
Packers protect the football. I think this team, the Packers
are built to battle the Cardinals in any capacity that
(20:29):
they want to. But I feel like we've seen some
real strides here with how they finished the game in
Dallas and then how they responded against Cincy. I think
you're seeing the firepower there a little bit.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Yeah. The gotta have it nature of the way this
Packers offense has been able to come through in clutch situations,
drive after drive after drive in the last two games,
is you know, if there is an early identity to
the offense. I think that's what it is. I wrote
a little bit about that on Packers dot com if
you want to check out that story. What I want
(20:58):
to see as far as a key to victory is
I want to see this offense and it starts with
Jordan Love, but it involves everybody. I want to see
this offense eliminate that one bad play that has happened
each of the last three weeks, the interception in Cleveland,
the stripsack in Dallas and the early interception against Cincinnati,
because as much as it was nice for the Packers
(21:19):
to be up ten to nothing at the half against
the Bengals, they should have been up thirteen or sixteen
or seventeen to nothing or something. You know, the ten
to nothing was actually not good enough for how they
had moved the football, and the interception on that opening
drive was was that one bad play? Now, And I'm
not saying, you know, they're okay the Cardinals might you know,
(21:40):
get a sack, whether it's sweat or campbell or whatever.
I'm not saying that there won't be any negative plays
in the game. But something that really ranks as a
really bad play, that's what they got to get rid
of because it's happened each of the last three games,
and it's had a massive impact on how things have
unfolded the rest of the way from that point on,
if you know what I'm.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Saying, excellent point, yeah, for sure. And I think one
thing that can help them too is and we'll have
to see exactly again get through the week here, but
the Packers finally did see their preferred starting five out
there in some capacity. Obviously, Sean Ryan was integrated with
that right guard spot, although Jordan Morgan, the former first
round pick, played predominantly there throughout the game. But you
(22:19):
got Rashid Walker out there, you know, playing through you
know his was it a quad trying to remember exactly
what he had. Then you have Aaron Banks has had
the growing issues. And then in Zach Tom whose really
sounds like he's going through it right now with the
oblique and also the back did not practice on Wednesday.
But if he can keep toughing it out, if Aaron
Banks can stretch some games together, I thought you started
(22:40):
to see the potential in this offensive line, not only
with how they protected Jordan Love, but also just how
they blocked for Josh Jacobs in the run game. Josh
had said afterwards he was feeling under the weather in
that game. But the fourteen yard touchdown run, he had said,
it probably was one of the best blocked plays he's
ever had.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Yeah, he even it was funny.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
If I don't know if he caught the mic up,
he remarked to us in the locker room, he actually
also set it on.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
His micro right, he said it on the micd up,
I could have fallen down and gotten up and still
scored on that because it was blocked, so well.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Yeah, it was just I mean, if you watch it,
it's a great play that the seal between Elton Jenkins
and then also Jordan Morgan had a tremendous block really
powered his guy on the right side allowed that alley
there for Josh Jacobs. The Packers hold a significant advantage
going into this game and their run offense, run defense
against what Arizona presents, that is going to be a
big thing as well.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Yeah, I thought the Packers offensive line was It felt
like the play was a little bit up and down
as the game started against the Bengals, but then as
the game war on, I felt that unit, that starting
five really really settled in and the blocking on the
touchdown drive, the touchdown run by Jacobs in the second
half was a perfect example of that, because as the
game went on, it felt like the only way Cincinnati
(23:51):
was getting any pressure on Jordan Love was to blitz
and Hendrickson had gone out of the game, and the Packers'
offensive line was controlling the line of scrimmage. And yeah,
the injuries are still an issue and so we'll have
to see, but if that's the starting five. If that's
the group they want. Hopefully those guys will will continue
to settle in. I want to look around the league
a little bit, but we got to pay some bills first,
(24:13):
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(24:58):
Learn more about all the wonders of what Wisconsin at
travel Wisconsin dot com Slash Wonders. Welcome back to Packers
Unscripted WES Week seven in the NFL Thursday Night Football,
We have to mention it. We don't normally talk a
lot about games that involve two AFC teams because those
results just don't really impact the Packers much. But when
(25:21):
you're talking two forty year old quarterbacks going ahead to
head on Thursday night football, it's it's worth worth to mention.
Aaron Rodgers against Joe Flacco, Pittsburgh is at Cincinnati. Pittsburgh
has clearly been the better team, but Joe Flacco has
definitely injected some life into that Cincinnati offense. And you
(25:42):
know how these short week division rivalry type games, I mean,
it always feels like anything can happen.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Yeah, I mean love excuse me, man, I'm so in
the twenty twenty five Packers. Now Aaron Rodgers going back
to the twenty twenty two Packers. You know, he had
said after the game in this game interview, they were
asking him about the North and he's like, I'm used
to the North. He's like the games in the NFC
and the AFC that in the North Division they're all
kind of like yeah, I mean they are knocked down,
(26:10):
drag out, gritty battles, and certainly he's being introduced to
that now on a six game basis here with the Steelers.
I love the fact of this matchup. I think it's
gonna be a lot of fun to watch. I'm excited
to watch it. I actually think from the Packers' perspective
that Joe Flacco game was a really good barometer a
little bit of what it's going to be like playing
(26:31):
against Rogers. I mean, Aaron is really extending plays still,
It's pretty impressive for a guy that's two months shy
of forty two years old. He's still not afraid to
scramble and get out of the pocket and work off schedule.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
You can tell he's another whole year removed from that
Achilles injury. Yeah, whereas last year there wasn't as much
mobility there because he was still trying to come back
from that.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
And almost the you're removed from having to be in
New York. Yeah, that too true.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
It's amazing when a little bit of vision can help,
you know. And also, you know, MVP quarterback out regardless
of the age. But yeah, it's gonna be a fun matchup,
and it's it's it's key.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
The Pittsburgh Steelers will be on a mini bi before
playing Green Bay in a night game in Pittsburgh, So
something to keep an eye on. In for Cincinnati, that's
a tough turnaround, especially with Hendrickson's back issue. Yeah, I'm
trying to to make that that that turnaround.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Yeah, if they don't, if they don't have Hendrickson, I'm
not sure how how they're gonna get a whole lot
of pressure on Aaron Rodgers, because I'm sure they would
like to, they would like to do that. Around the
NFC North, the Bears are hosting the Saints. I think
the Chicago Bears are probably gonna run their winning streak
to four games and be four and too. The Saints.
Saints definitely a struggling squad, but but who knows there.
(27:44):
Philadelphia is at Minnesota, and then on Monday Night Football,
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Detroit Lions. Probably the
game of the week really as far as the full
slate in the NFL your thoughts on any of those
NFC North games.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
The Lions will not have Bran Branch, who's one game
suspension was upheld by Dy Nelson.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Jordy Nelson the appeals the NFL.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
One of the NFL appeals officers who happened to get
Brian Branch's case.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
This is how I know I'm getting old. Yeah, Jordy
Nelson is.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
An appeals officer for the NFL, jointly elected in the NFLPA. Yeah,
so they're not going to have Brian Branch in this one.
This is not an opponent that you want to not
have Brian Branch on the field for Tampa can stretch
you in a number of different ways.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Well, and Detroit is dealing with other injuries in the secondary,
and so they have now the Branch suspension on top
of like Terry on Arnold and I'm the other cornerback's
name is escaping me. But they've had injuries at the
cornerback spot and now one of their starting safeties is
going to miss this game with the suspension.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
So it's a big one Monday Night football, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
I wrote an insider Inbox. That's my third plug for
Inbox today. This is I think this is the team.
This is the matchup between the team to beat for
the Green Bay Packers right now in the NFC. I
think this is going to go along way with kind
of that power rank and establishing that Philadelphia going to
Minnesota is a huge game on a number of levels.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
One.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
I don't know if you saw it, but probably some
people were remarking on Twitter, probably the most testy Kevin
O'Connell's ever been, and it's really not that testy. But
when he was asked again about the quarterback situation on Wednesday, saying,
I am it's the same answer as when I gave
you guys on Monday, we'll see. I mean, it's funny.
They're almost a victim of their own success because they
(29:29):
bring these quarterbacks in. Carson Wentz pretty much off the
scrap heap, and you know he holds his own. But
now you got JJ McCarthy coming back from this ankle
deal and didn't look great when he was out there healthy.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
What do you do?
Speaker 2 (29:43):
And it's a difficult opponent on paper that they're gonna
have to go up against in the sales.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
The Eagles coming trying to bounce back now from a
two game losing streak, but coming off of like the
mini bi Yeah, a little bit extra time for them
after losing that game to the Giants last Thursday.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
But now they're without Zadarias Smith who retired tired. So
it's just.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Two ships crossing in the night there in that matchup,
So we'll be we'll be interesting to see how that
shuffles out.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Yeah, we shall see. Well, we get to we get
to wake up bright and early out in uh Arizona
at our hotel to another London game and Wembley Stadium.
The Rams are at the Jaguars. And the only reason
I mentioned this one is because I'm looking at this
matchup going I don't know if I can figure out
where either of these two teams is headed. Yeah, you know,
(30:31):
and I know there's there's always there's always injuries, particularly
there have been injuries with the Rams and whatnot. But
but then you know, Jacksonville. I just I don't I
don't know what to I don't know what to make
of them. I don't know what to think of of
whether they're gonna be a serious contender in the AFC
or not.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
I think that answer, honestly is up to Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Oh yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Like at some point we're gonna get to a spot
here we got to decide. I mean, Trevor Lawrence is
definitely an NFL starting quarterback. There's no question about that.
He's a good quarterback. But he was the number one
overall guy a few years ago, and he was seen
as a generational can't miss prospect. Right, He's been to
the playoffs. He's also been part of some what four
(31:13):
win three win seasons.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
A bunch of coaching changes.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
He's on his third head coach, right.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
Everything else that's gone on in his career.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Yeah, so this is I think a really critical year
for him and Liam Cohen going in there had kind
of a rough start, but seems like things are sort
of trending in the right way. But yeah, the London
fans all those years they got served the Jacksonville Jaguars
during some lean years I think at a four and
two team. Now welcoming in a four and two RAMS squad.
So yeah, and there's no Formula one on Sunday morning,
(31:43):
so I'll be able to watch it.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Oh, there we go, all right.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
Austin is at night.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Oh I probably won't be able to I'll have to
wait until I get home.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
To watch that because I'll be writing.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
All right, well, I'll make sure to spoil it for you.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Thank you, I appreciate that. All right.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Well, with that, we'll call it a rap on this
edition of Packer Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of
our coverage of the team and all of our coverage
of Sunday's game from Arizona. We'll have it all for
you on packers dot com for wesiamlike thank you for
tuning in, everybody. We will see you next time.
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