November 17, 2025 • 31 mins
The FAN’s Dave Sinykin and Brett Blakemore break down the Week 11 win against the Giants.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, future Brett here before we start Packer Review, just
wanted to tell you that we did the entire show
without me realizing that I was using my webcam audio
and not my board audio that I paid a lot
of money for. So I sound a little bit worse
than I usually do, which isn't saying much, but.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Just wanted to address that off the top. Apologies on
my end.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Here's Packer Review. This is Packer Review AKFA in production.
I am Dave Sinekin, joined by Brett's Lakemore as always,
as we look back at the Packers win on Sunday
in New York technically New Jersey twenty seven twenty over
the Giants. It wasn't pretty, it was ugly in fact,
but the Packers found a way to get off that
two game losing streak, had a much needed road win.
(00:41):
Still plenty of questions about this squad injury front, front
and center, but Brett obviously getting a w on the road,
tough conditions, things weren't going the Packs way. We could
kind of exhale when Evan Williams came down with that
pick in the end zone.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yeah, it was a blood pressure type game and it
didn't have to be, which is the worst part they
could have ended that game. I mean, we'll never know
what the stat line was, but it's another box score
watcher game.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Where you go love was terrible.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
You see his box score and see his completion percentage,
and he had I think seven drops that just if
it was spears, they would be dead type drops. So
and everyone was dropping, the secondary was dropping it, the Packers'
receivers dropping.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Just made it so much more hard than it had
to be. But a win is a win, is a win.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Will take it, Yeah, for sure. You look at the drops,
you look at the missed kicks, you look at the
injuries that had Packers coming in and out of a
game on both sides of the ball. It just had
the feeling early like, oh man, this is one of
those days right there was that the first Romeo Dobs
drop was just in his hands. He seemed just looking
at his hands like what was that? And then you know,
(01:50):
Carrington Valentine twice had easy picks. We talked about, you know,
Jameis Winston's going to give you a few. We gave
the pack four or five. They finally paired one, the
last one. But it just early on felt like it's
going to be one of those days nothing is going right,
and then Love heads to the tunnel, not just the
blue tent, but the tunnel. I don't know about you, Bret,
(02:13):
but I'm like, okay, perfect, That's just exactly what this
game felt like. Now we lose Love, Jacobs's gimpy it. Yeah,
I just had all the earmarks of just the typical
one of those games, going out to New York and
just fallen flat at the worst possible time. And the
fact that they were able to gather themselves, do a
lot of things right, which we'll talk about and escape
(02:35):
with a win obviously makes you feel good. But I
don't think this team answered a ton of questions about
where they are at the midway point.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
No, I don't think we can feel any better, thankfully,
we just don't feel any worse, which and hopefully this
is you know, the ground floor, and you build up
from there. McDuffie on one of the drops had one
of the worst defensive plays I've ever seen open field,
tackling Valentine trying to come down with the pit bullet.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Actually yeah, oh it was Buller, that's right.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yeah, Yeah, I couldn't believe what I was seeing and
then not to mention my guy who I love and
who got a game ball but laces in. It was
a bad snap too, so it's not fully on him,
but just weird, weird mistakes that it did just feel like,
uh oh, here we go. Here comes the weird game
where everything goes wrong for the Pack. But Jordan Love
(03:24):
is Jordan Love and he made the play.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Yeah, let's start with the quarterback position, because he goes
out with the shoulder injury on the running play where
he just he said it afterward like I should have slid,
I should have gone out of bounds. I didn't expect
to get hit like that, injured the left shoulder. In
comes Malik Willis for seven plays, and man, you got
to tip your cap to that kid, don't you. I mean,
he just comes in ice cold on a day where
(03:47):
it's it's windy and the offense is really not doing much,
and you know, he engineers a scoring drive when the
pack's trailing to put him on the board and kind
of injected a little juice for the seven plays he
was in. I mean that that third down connection he hit,
I mean, you come in, you haven't even thrown on
the sideline. I mean, you're just like walking on the
(04:08):
on the football field. He delivers that third down pass,
gets that running play, the sixteen yard run to send
up the team in a you know, field goal position
or touchdown scoring position, and then the dart to Christian Watson.
I don't even know what he saw because Watson was covered,
but that was a dart and I just, man, it's
(04:29):
it's nice to have that kid. He deserves all the flowers.
He kind of settled everybody down and then you know,
obviously Love comes back in and has a very good day.
But sometimes we take for granted that we got a
guy that, you know, if if you lose Love for
a bit, he's gonna hold things down. And you don't
want to lose Love. Blah blah blah. But you know,
there are legit questions coming out of this game, like
(04:51):
should there be a small package of plays from Alik Willis.
We had that conversation last year after he had come
in for a few games, and I didn't really go
for it. You don't take Jordan Love off the field.
But the way this offense is going to kind of
I think putter a bit throughout the year and struggle
and might need some juice. I don't know about you.
I'm open to the idea of not every week, but
when the time is right, springing that on a team
(05:13):
and throwing Malik out there and making a defense figure
out what the pack's going to do.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
He's certainly a weapon, and I love the way that
Laflora calls plays when he's out there.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I mean, you never see Jordan Love running a straight.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
College style read option, you know, for a sixteen year,
which I would say I'm okay with, maybe not after
the shoulder thing. Now I'm not so much okay with it,
because he's usually pretty smart about that stuff.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
I don't know how I feel about that, because I'm
still kind.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Of opposed to, you know, if you bring him out,
like for instance, if you watched any of the Bears vikings,
they brought out the Bears, they brought out Page as
like a wide receiver, just as.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
A a oh what are they going to do?
Speaker 1 (05:52):
And you know something is up and they end up
just running it for like two yards anyways, So it
kind of gives your hand like, well, something's happening, you know,
or running it or doing something weird. But we have
seen leak Willis throw the ball downfield successfully too in
Green Bay. So I.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Was against it and now I'm questioning it but open
to it.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Yeah, I get it. It's not something I want to
see every week, but he's just a really talented kid
with the ball in his hands, and he gives you
a dimension you don't have. So just something to keep
an eye on. As is MRI Monday, this is a
big day for the Packs medical team. The most concerning injury,
of course, that to Josh Jacobs, who left the game
early with the knee injury. Reports you know, national reports
(06:32):
over night, Tom Pelisara and others Packers believe he has
avoided significant injury, which obviously is great news. But until
we see the MRI and you still you see exactly
what's going on, you sort of hold your breadth because
if you want this Packers team to get where we want,
Josh Jacobs needs to be a part of it. Kudos
to Emmanuel Wilson, came in did his job, but the
(06:53):
Packers don't really have a replacement that that's going to
be anywhere near as productive is Josh Jacobs. So I'm
anxiously awaiting the MRI results and love shoulder is gonna
get checked out too. And I'm not just totally feeling
great about that. I understand he came back in and
looked great, but adrenaline all that stuff kind of goes
and then they look the next day and go, you
(07:14):
know what, he separated his shoulder. He's out for four weeks.
So it's a big day to day just to hear
the medicals and make sure that Jacobs, into a lesser
degree love have escaped anything major. So kind of holding
my breath because it was nice to see that running
game back. One hundred and sixty yards on the ground
in the first half. That's exactly what you hope to see,
especially against the defense that's terrible against the run, was
(07:37):
missing three or four defensive starters. We set it before
the game, I can't run on the New York Giants
right now, not sure who you're gonna run again. So
they checked that box. Now we've got to make sure
number eight's okay.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Yeah, and he's a huge part of that.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
I mean with all the rushers, Wilson, Jacobs, Melton, Willis
Brooks love five point six yards of carry, you take that.
And that was something we mentioned early on and I
remember when we crossed the twenty point mark.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
I'm like, all right, well, at least there's that we got.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
We got past twenty, so it just was I was
happy that it finally got back on track because if
that's the foundation of this offense, that's the way Lafloor
wants to do it, and thankfully they did it against
one of the worst rush defenses in the league.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
I haven't watched the All twenty two. I haven't watched
the game back, but I follow a lot of guys
that have taken closer looks at the Packers' running game,
and it sounds like Aaron Banks had had a really
good game. Finally, the Packers left guard, who we've all
been trashing because it's just been ugly. He's been hurt,
but he's not look effective when he's out there. And
whenever you're signed to a deal like he signed seventy
(08:45):
seven million, it looked like an overpay at the time.
Microscope is going to be on your performance. Can you
live up to that? He has not. But I'm gonna,
you know, give him his flowers today because I've seen
a number of plays where you focus on Aaron Banks,
look at him doing his job and he is moving people,
and if that's a sign of him either getting more
comfortable of the offense or being healthy, or just figuring
(09:08):
out that it's now or never, it's a really encouraging
sign as we get to this more difficult part of
the schedule, because as we've all talked about, if this
offensive line can't become a cohesive, productive unit, doesn't matter
how good Jordan Love is or Patrick Mahomes or anybody.
If you don't have a good line, you're in trouble.
So that's a I think, a very encouraging development up front.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Yeah, we do have to keep in context the opponent,
but baby steps are baby steps, and progress is progress.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
And if they don't, like I said, I compared.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Him to a drummer and a band, they have to
be good for anything else to work.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
And they're shuffled.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
And mixed, and Sean Ryan is the center and we
don't know who's where, and we have Tackles playing guard.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
So they're trying to just piece it together as best
they can.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
And again, I just don't want to complain about a
win because we've lost too straight at Lambeau, so I
want to be happy, But you know, it is still
the Giants, and I think we got to keep it
a little bit in perspective, but I.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Am happy, yeah, for sure. And it's because it was
so ugly. As you pointed out the top, the drops
were a real thing. They were five drops in the
first half, not just the secondary, just the receivers had
five drops in the first half. The Packers have been
credited for five drops throughout the first what nine eight
nine games of the season, so they had more drops
in the first half than they had all year. And
(10:27):
you know, kudos to Christian Watson for stepping up and
again just showing what a dynamic player he can be
when he is healthy. You know, Green Bay signed him
to that one year extension, you know, while he's managing
the ACL injury. Doing that, I think out of just
saying we know what you can be, and I feel
like it probably gave him just a lot of confidence,
(10:49):
Like this organization believes in me, even though I haven't
stayed on the field. Don't know what my future is
going to be, but they they said, we're gonna give
you this money. We believe And I don't know how
much that plays into a guy recuperating fast, being more
confident on the field, whatever it might be. But man,
ol man a week after week now, he is the
go to receiver for this team when you need a play.
We'll talk about the sav On Williams play as well,
(11:10):
but Watson first, the two touchdowns. The second one that
throw from Love into the wind on a bad snap
where he has to bring it down, throw it into
the wind into a corner where Watson's double covered. But
they figure, you know, he's tall, he's physical, he's big,
fifty to fifty ball, go get it. And he did.
And man, when you see Watson play like that, you
(11:31):
just remember some of the I remember the Cowboys game
a few years ago when I was at that game
where he had three touchdowns against Dallas and that was
sort of his coming out party, and he just say, boy,
oh boy, this kid, if he can stay healthy, he
has everything you want because he's got the speed, the size,
he blocks, he's got the mental matter. But he understands
the game and wants to be great. My takeaway, there's
(11:55):
several takeaways from this game, but for me, I think
almost number one is Chris Watson is the number one
receiver on this team for right now. He's not going
to get all the targets. He's not going to get
three touchdowns every game, but when you need a big play,
a big catch, you can trust number nine. And I
think Love and Watson they're starting to really really get
in rhythm together. I'm excited about if he can't stay healthy,
(12:16):
we know that's a big hip with Watson. The second
half of the season could be really fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
You know, I'm the furthest thing from a NFL coach
or a football coach.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
I don't know if I think.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
That well, Dobbs dropped it. So this next play, no
matter what, I'm going to Watson. I don't know if
that's how that works, but.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
It felt like as a viewer that's how it worked.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
It felt like Love tried going elsewhere and when all
was lost and we needed a completion, and he went
to Watson. And it was a very good week to
activate the starting roster of a fantasy team for Christian Watson.
It was a very good week for people who did that,
including myself.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So he is a big playmaker.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
And yeah, he did have the one drop that I
mean it technically is a drop, but it was a
tough catch to make it over the shoulder, Willie May
style catch, but he made up for it, and then
something with the touchdown. The second one in particular just unbelievable.
Even the first one is a tough catch as well.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Well, not as your friends, but we.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Absolutely love to see that, and that's what we've been
waiting for. The take the top off the defense type
receiver that he gets.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
The play that's set up the touchdown, winning drive, winning
score was the play of the game, and that was
the third and ten completion thirty three yards to save
Yon Williams. That can't watch that play enough. I mean,
it was, you know, the story of the day. I thought, offensively,
the Giants got a lot of pressure on Love throughout
the day. And that's not a surprise they have. You know,
(13:41):
their front line is just stock full of number one
picks Abdul Carter, Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence. They have a
talent up front, and they were they were winning that
Love was in duress all day long, and you know
he did a really good job. Again, you said at
thirteen for twenty four, people who didn't watch the game
are going to go, well, they won despite Love. I mean,
that's that's a terrible stat line. Take the drops into account.
(14:03):
He's probably nineteen for twenty four for two sixty, but
third and ten he's under duress. He's not escaping the pocket. Instead,
you see him saying go you know, telling the receivers
just go deep, just go deep. I got you. Flings
it up. Saveon Williams, who was on the field for
a grand total of two snaps in this game. That
was one of his two snaps. Saw Love's gesture, went deep,
(14:28):
got open and jumped up and caught a fifty to
fifty ball to keep that drive alive. I mean it's
fourth and ten. If they don't complete that pass, you're
down a point with four minutes to go. I mean,
the game literally was on the line, and here is
of all people, Saveon Williams adjusting mid play to what
his quarterback wanted, going up and making a big catch. Huge,
(14:48):
absolutely huge.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Another thing those box score readers do, who go, oh, well,
he only went thirteen for twenty four, so he must
not have been good. They'll see the one play, which
probably is that one to save on where it is
chak or off the back foot.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Oh, I can't keep getting away with that. He does
it consistently.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
He makes those completions all the time, So there's at
some point you have to go it isn't just blind luck,
it's a bleep at ball and throw it up there
and see what happens.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Like at some point you.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Have to just acknowledge that the guy is skilled and
he knows what he's doing, and they keep consistently coming
down with it.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
So he trusts his guys to go make a play
and they do.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Maybe instead of focusing on look at him throw off
his back foot, those people should look at the fact
that he has now engineered four fourth quarter comebacks on
the season, all on the road, three of them victories.
Want to tie, the tie in Dallas, the wins in Arizona, Pittsburgh,
and now New York. We're all fourth quarter comebacks. That's
something Rogers was not great at. That's something he was
criticized for a lot by those that were looking for
(15:51):
things to poke it at the resume, and you know
that doesn't show up on the stat sheet, that doesn't
show up for casual fans. But aultimately, what matters more
than anything is can you get your team to win
games from behind, whether it's Homer road. It wrote even
more impressively He's done it four times and we're ten
games into the season, and that, to me is the
(16:12):
most important stat you got to look at.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Completely agree. I don't know if we're done with the offense,
but my next got one more? But go ahead, one more? Well,
go ahead, because I have I have complaints about the
defense a little bit.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Yeah, yeah, well, no, I do too. The last thing
on the offense that struck me, and I didn't notice
it until I read it after the game. I don't
know if you noticed this. Luke musk Grave was on
the field for two snaps in the second half, basically
benched in the second half, and I don't know if
it was that drop that looked like it might be
a fumble that they had to review that thankfully was.
He didn't quite have possession, but it was really close.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
I thought it was incompletion pretty I thought it was
pretty obvious.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Yeah, he didn't fumble, He never really had the ball. Yeah,
but you know, it looked like he was turned and
it was close. But the point is you make the catch.
You have to make the catch. They saw enough of
Luke Muskgrave early on in the second half and said, no,
we'll just go with Fitzpatrick and Wiley. Wiley gets the
touchdown in the game, So antenna up on Luke musk Grave.
(17:17):
Maybe it's just pay bad day at the office. We
still believe in you. Maybe it's you know what, we'd
rather have guys that can block and give us a
little bit more, and we'll give up the guy that can,
you know, break through the seams and run down field.
We'll give that up for a more complete package. Maybe
it's an eye opening decision for Luke Muskgrave. But that's
just something I want to watch going forward because we
(17:38):
all thought, all right, he's not going to be Tucker Kraft,
but former second round pick's got some athleticisms, got some skills.
This is his chance. Maybe he opened something up. The
coaching staff was not impressed, and his butt was on
the bench for the second half. What do you got
you want to start with defense? Where do you want
to go?
Speaker 1 (17:56):
I have similar complaints to Arizona and that kind of
era of that game where I just felt like they
could not get off the field, and they mean, I
get Jameis Winston is more complete at this point in
time than Russell Wilson, But my gosh, I mean that's
been the issue. And they they did get the turnover
(18:19):
at the end, they could have had three or four
turnovers and overall they played well, but just how many
double digit play drives did we see it?
Speaker 2 (18:28):
And it's just running the ball right at them.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And it's not a Mica thing, it's a whole defense.
It's a unit thing where I just felt like they're run.
This is a feel not real thing. I just felt
like they were running all over us and whenever they
needed a big stop.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
On third down, they could not get it. So it
puts the offense in a tough spot where they've.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Got to be even more and that makes the drops
more meaningful. I just felt like the big third down
plays that couldn't get off the field.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Yeah, it's crazy. It's like one week you go, man,
this defense is so good, why can't the offense stand up?
And the next week defense looks nothing like what you
saw the previous week or two, and you go, why
can't they make a third down stop? Why can't they
get to Jamis Winston. I think back to the one
drive where they had the ball for like nine or
ten minutes, Packers get the ball back and the last
(19:18):
thing you wants to three and out because your defense
has been on the field for half an hour. And
remember it was like third and two and Love took
a deep shot to Watson on third and two, doesn't
come up with it, And now you're punting, and I'm thinking,
why would you take a You need to move the
chains here, give your defense a little more time. They
have to come right back on the field. And yeah,
(19:38):
I mean I think that played into it. It was
a thirty six minutes to twenty four time of possession.
The defense was out there a long long time on Sunday,
and it's not like you're facing dynamic weapons. Tyrone Tracy
should not run for one hundred yards if you think
you're a great defense. Now they ran for one hundred
and forty two yards against the pack. I'm thirty seven.
(20:00):
It's only three point eight yards of carry, which actually
doesn't sound terrible. But as you say, they just kept
moving the chains and talked about it going in. They
didn't have the quarterback, they didn't have their all world receiver,
didn't have their phenom rookie running back. They're down their
three most prolific offensive players, and yet they're still moving
the ball at will up and down the field. It's
(20:20):
it was concerning did Rashan Gary play? I don't remember
noticing him. That's a concern because the attention Micah gets
you watch it, there's guys all over him. Gary has
had a couple of really good games of late. This
was not one of them, and he ended up splitting
time with Enigbari. I think the coaching staff saw it
like he's not giving us any juice, he's not getting free,
(20:41):
he's losing one on one battles, and then mcbarie gives
us a little more juice. So that stood out to
me that the Packers got very little pressure on Jameis
Winston and he is a capable backup quarterback who can
start for you a few times. You feel good about it.
You knew he'd give you a juice. He's a leader.
Guys love to play for him. You knew the coaching
(21:02):
staff was going to go all out, go forward and
fourth downs, do whatever they could, and to their credit,
they played well. The Giants did play well on Sunday
and they knew they had a chance to knock off
a floundering team, but the pass rush was not good enough.
Winston was way too comfortable in the pocket. The run
defense was not good enough. But all that said, you
(21:22):
know what happens in the closing moments, right, Micah gets
the strip sack. At the end of the game. He
and McDuffie on fourth and three got a sack in
the red zone. So Micah seems to pick his time
to really affect football games. He's done it time and
time again this season. And when they had to make
a play, you know, obviously Evan Williams gets the interception
when the receiver kind of messes up high it on
(21:45):
the route. Look, they they were on the field a
long time. It was a tough day all that. I'm
not gonna suddenly trash. Jeff Haffley kind of glad they
didn't shine in New York. We talked about half weeah, Yeah,
it wasn't a great day at the office for the defense.
And you know, now we've got three straight division games
(22:06):
and they get really important, and you just hope that
we see this defense, you know, stand up and do
their thing. You're not going to face a really prolific
offense in Minnesota this week, but Detroit and Chicago Beck
and those teams. Although Detroit had a rough game Sunday night.
We know those teams can move the ball. So yeah,
not a great day at the office for Jeff Affley's defense.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
It's certainly true that Mike is the closer.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
He's been, you know, taught as that before, and he
does pick his spots and in the big moments he
usually is there. I wish, you know, I thought he
had a lot of pressures. I haven't seen the actual numbers.
I felt like he was in the vicinity of Jamis
a cup handful of times at least, but didn't really
get there until the very end. But the book is
(22:50):
out in my opinion, and earplugs to Kevin O'Connell. I'm
sure he already knows. If you want to be an
underdog team against Green Bay and have a chance, you
keep the offense off the field as long as you
humanly can. And that's what the Panthers did. That's what
Arizona did a lot. Just play keep away and run
(23:14):
the ball, and run the clock and be as slow
as humanly possible, turn the two clock setting on and men,
and just be annoying. And it seems like it tires
out the defense and it it rusts up the offense.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
To where they don't execute as well.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
And it stinks that we're at that point, but that's
what they do. So something's got to change. Whether it's
a better run defense on first and second down, if
it's better not playing zone defense as much, I don't know,
but that seems to me the book to beat this team.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Yeah, and that's to make excuses, but kuway Walker left
the game early third quarter with the stinger, and that's
a big loss. You lose your leading tackler and sort
of the quarterback of your defense, and now you drop
to Isaiah McDuffie and Tyron Hopper, And obviously that's a difference.
And we'll check on Quay's situation. It sounds like he
sounded it. Afterwards he'll be okay. He feels like he's
not going to miss any time. But obviously we'll waiting
(24:07):
to hear on that. A lot of guys left the game,
Golden Dobbs, Zach Tom felt like half the offense was
in and out of this game on Sunday. Interesting to
me that Canard is the backup right tackle when Tom
goes out. I always thought Anthony Belton might be the
guy they're looking at the step in. But I don't
know if that's a bad sign that your second round
pick doesn't appear to be your top eight in your
(24:29):
top eight just yet. But you know, Conard stepped in
for a few plays till Tom got his act together.
He's you know, been up and down with that back injury,
and this team needs Zach Tom out there, especially with
the pass rushers they are going to face as these
division games happen. So all those injuries, a lot of
those guys came back in the game. But obviously, as
we talked about Love and Jacobs, the two we're going
(24:51):
to hear most are most concerned about. And we'll here,
I'm not concerned about Love, but just let's just make
sure the shoulders. Okay, I just a your quarterback an arm,
not his throwing arm, but you know it gives you pause.
You just want to make sure that's okay. You mentioned
Daniel Wheeling, he's your guy. He got one of the
three game balls, Watson, Evan, Williams and Wheelan, and you
(25:15):
know it gets lost in the shuffle, but the Packers
clearly understood what Daniel wheel And did on Sunday, tilting
that feel that that last punt was huge, pushing the
Giants deep as they were looking to make a last push.
That kid such an unrecognized hero for this team. I
know you and I text more about Daniel Wheeling than
(25:37):
I think any other Packer player during games because we
understand that we've seen bad punting. Every team has bad
punters over the years. But when you have a good one,
you really recognize and appreciate what a difference he can make.
And on a day where the winds were swirling and
every kick was an adventure and the Giants certainly shanked
a couple, you can count on Daniel wheel And to
(25:58):
take care of business, whether snap's crappy, the conditions, he
was big time and a big factor in that win.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
On Sunday, I ask an Iowa Hawkeye fan how good
how good having a good punter is.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
It changes the game, And especially in a day where.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
The defense can't particularly get off the field in a
timely manner, you make him go as long as humanly possible.
And Daniel Wheeling is unbelievable. It seems like no matter
how far in they are, he'll get them to wherever.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
They need to go. I mean, sixty seventy yard kicks it's.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
A thing of beauty car carrying member appreciate society for
Daniel Wheel and he is unbelievable to deserve the game
ball even though he had a bad snap given to him,
and then liacens in for one of the field goals that.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Looked horrendous if you look past that. There was a moment.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
I don't know if you had this feeling as well,
speaking of special teams after the touchdown, I think it
or no, it was there was a punt return late
and I thought, oh no, here we go again and
special teams bite us in the ass.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
And they didn't. They it was actually good punk coverage.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
But I had that moment of fear, like this is
how it ends. Is the special teams blow it and
they give up a big punk return and here we
go to overtime against the damn Giants.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
So but not that. I thought the coverage was mostly good,
The wheeling was good.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Haversick tough day, but we'll give him a pass because
of the wins. And they didn't totally cost us the game.
And that's the bar eventually for Packers. Special teams don't
cost the entire game, that's.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
All we ask. And yeah, the first half or sick
kick again. I felt like that was on him the
second one, as you mentioned, terrible snap. Now the hole
comes down, the laces are facing him. I mean, that's
just difficult. So I'm going to also let him off
the hook. The Giants missed one as well, terribly young
ho Ku. I was a tough day at the office,
and it was not an easy, easy game to win.
(27:52):
You don't apologize for one possession wins against two win teams.
You can, you don't need to. Packers have now won
five games this season, five of their six wins coming.
They've scored twenty seven points, which is their magic number
at this point. Oddly enough, at six three and one,
they actually pass up the Lions in the second place.
We're all looking up at the Bears in the NFC
(28:13):
North this morning in mid November. That's a real sentence
that I just said. In the year twenty twenty five,
somehow the Bears find a way to keep on winning,
and it's an interesting story and one to watch. We'll
get our first shot at them in a couple of weeks.
One thing we haven't talked about yet, just briefly, as
we close this thing down, looking again at the offense.
(28:34):
That's what we were focused on coming into this game
after two duds at Lambeau. Here, you go on the
road against a bad defense, missing key players, you got
to show up. And you know, we talked about the
running game getting going and love being really good. The
stat that gets me most excited four for four in
the red zone after these struggles the last two weeks.
(28:56):
I mean, what one for five against Carolina on the
road in a tough environment with crappy weather conditions. Four
for four in the red zone, seven for eleven on
third down. They made plays when it mattered, and to me, ultimately,
that's a good sign. As we head to the home stretch,
the final seven games, and we all know five division
(29:17):
games left, they're all important. Going to Denver is going
to be tough. Lamar Jackson's coming to the house. You're
going to have to be successful, proficient in the red zone.
Going four for four against a mediocre or less defense,
I'll take that. But you did it. You accomplish what
you had to do and that's something I'm sure the
coaches will look at and go, that's what we have
to do to somehow get wins in this league.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Yeah, and it's not, you know, an amazing step on
the moon, but it's a first step.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
It's a step. Nonetheless, it doesn't matter how big it is.
And anything was better than the offense we've gotten the
last two weeks.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
So I'll take any bit of progress, any bit of
optimism that I could possibly squeeze.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Out of this game.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
There is plenty to be squeezed. It is just under
the underlying feeling of well it is the Giants, you know, well,
it is a bad football team with a bad defense
and a beat up offense that's their third choice of
quarterback by their standards, and a backup coach.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
But the offense still look good. Love make good throws.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
The running game was back, and Lafleur isn't a big
talker this week as far as his play calling, everything
seemed to work out. Neither the blood pressure was high.
It still ended up getting a win and somewhat back
on track.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
Yeah, and now we'll just hold our brother. I think
Josh Jacobs is going to miss some time. We'll see
how much time it is. Hopefully it's not a lot,
but we'll get results on the knee. And he's been
a work course, a warrior, he rarely misses games. But
here's a really good chance you'll get two more games
here in the next ten days. And I don't know
that you're going to see Josh Jacobs for the Vikings
and Lions. And so that's another tough thing for this
(30:54):
Packers offense because now what you got, You've got Emmanuel
Wilson and Chris Brooks and is Marshawn Lloyd available? Is
he on the team? I mean, do you get to
at a running back? So that's for another day. We
can take the Monday and take the win and know
that that two game losing streak is a thing of
the past. It's Vikings week coming back to Lambeau. Let's
(31:15):
see if Love's okay, Jacobs's knee is quay? And is that?
How did everybody come out of this game? How ready
are there? Are they unhealthy? For this divisional gauntlet? The
next three weeks should be fun. I'll be looking forward
to joining Pa and the kfan crew at Buffalo Wildings
Blaine on Friday. So if you're up in Blaine and
you want to wear your green and gold and support me,
(31:36):
I'll be up there eleven o'clock joining Pa on his
Friday Football Feast, Brett and I will be back for
Packer preview. Previewing Packers Viking Sunday morning, bright and early
seven am on Kfam or whenever you wake up on
the iHeart app. Thanks for listening, have a great week
and as always, go pack
Hey, future Brett here before we start Packer Review, just
wanted to tell you that we did the entire show
without me realizing that I was using my webcam audio
and not my board audio that I paid a lot
of money for. So I sound a little bit worse
than I usually do, which isn't saying much, but.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Just wanted to address that off the top. Apologies on
my end.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Here's Packer Review. This is Packer Review AKFA in production.
I am Dave Sinekin, joined by Brett's Lakemore as always,
as we look back at the Packers win on Sunday
in New York technically New Jersey twenty seven twenty over
the Giants. It wasn't pretty, it was ugly in fact,
but the Packers found a way to get off that
two game losing streak, had a much needed road win.
(00:41):
Still plenty of questions about this squad injury front, front
and center, but Brett obviously getting a w on the road,
tough conditions, things weren't going the Packs way. We could
kind of exhale when Evan Williams came down with that
pick in the end zone.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yeah, it was a blood pressure type game and it
didn't have to be, which is the worst part they
could have ended that game. I mean, we'll never know
what the stat line was, but it's another box score
watcher game.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Where you go love was terrible.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
You see his box score and see his completion percentage,
and he had I think seven drops that just if
it was spears, they would be dead type drops. So
and everyone was dropping, the secondary was dropping it, the Packers'
receivers dropping.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Just made it so much more hard than it had
to be. But a win is a win, is a win.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Will take it, Yeah, for sure. You look at the drops,
you look at the missed kicks, you look at the
injuries that had Packers coming in and out of a
game on both sides of the ball. It just had
the feeling early like, oh man, this is one of
those days right there was that the first Romeo Dobs
drop was just in his hands. He seemed just looking
at his hands like what was that? And then you know,
(01:50):
Carrington Valentine twice had easy picks. We talked about, you know,
Jameis Winston's going to give you a few. We gave
the pack four or five. They finally paired one, the
last one. But it just early on felt like it's
going to be one of those days nothing is going right,
and then Love heads to the tunnel, not just the
blue tent, but the tunnel. I don't know about you, Bret,
(02:13):
but I'm like, okay, perfect, That's just exactly what this
game felt like. Now we lose Love, Jacobs's gimpy it. Yeah,
I just had all the earmarks of just the typical
one of those games, going out to New York and
just fallen flat at the worst possible time. And the
fact that they were able to gather themselves, do a
lot of things right, which we'll talk about and escape
(02:35):
with a win obviously makes you feel good. But I
don't think this team answered a ton of questions about
where they are at the midway point.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
No, I don't think we can feel any better, thankfully,
we just don't feel any worse, which and hopefully this
is you know, the ground floor, and you build up
from there. McDuffie on one of the drops had one
of the worst defensive plays I've ever seen open field,
tackling Valentine trying to come down with the pit bullet.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Actually yeah, oh it was Buller, that's right.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yeah, Yeah, I couldn't believe what I was seeing and
then not to mention my guy who I love and
who got a game ball but laces in. It was
a bad snap too, so it's not fully on him,
but just weird, weird mistakes that it did just feel like,
uh oh, here we go. Here comes the weird game
where everything goes wrong for the Pack. But Jordan Love
(03:24):
is Jordan Love and he made the play.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Yeah, let's start with the quarterback position, because he goes
out with the shoulder injury on the running play where
he just he said it afterward like I should have slid,
I should have gone out of bounds. I didn't expect
to get hit like that, injured the left shoulder. In
comes Malik Willis for seven plays, and man, you got
to tip your cap to that kid, don't you. I mean,
he just comes in ice cold on a day where
(03:47):
it's it's windy and the offense is really not doing much,
and you know, he engineers a scoring drive when the
pack's trailing to put him on the board and kind
of injected a little juice for the seven plays he
was in. I mean that that third down connection he hit,
I mean, you come in, you haven't even thrown on
the sideline. I mean, you're just like walking on the
(04:08):
on the football field. He delivers that third down pass,
gets that running play, the sixteen yard run to send
up the team in a you know, field goal position
or touchdown scoring position, and then the dart to Christian Watson.
I don't even know what he saw because Watson was covered,
but that was a dart and I just, man, it's
(04:29):
it's nice to have that kid. He deserves all the flowers.
He kind of settled everybody down and then you know,
obviously Love comes back in and has a very good day.
But sometimes we take for granted that we got a
guy that, you know, if if you lose Love for
a bit, he's gonna hold things down. And you don't
want to lose Love. Blah blah blah. But you know,
there are legit questions coming out of this game, like
(04:51):
should there be a small package of plays from Alik Willis.
We had that conversation last year after he had come
in for a few games, and I didn't really go
for it. You don't take Jordan Love off the field.
But the way this offense is going to kind of
I think putter a bit throughout the year and struggle
and might need some juice. I don't know about you.
I'm open to the idea of not every week, but
when the time is right, springing that on a team
(05:13):
and throwing Malik out there and making a defense figure
out what the pack's going to do.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
He's certainly a weapon, and I love the way that
Laflora calls plays when he's out there.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I mean, you never see Jordan Love running a straight.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
College style read option, you know, for a sixteen year,
which I would say I'm okay with, maybe not after
the shoulder thing. Now I'm not so much okay with it,
because he's usually pretty smart about that stuff.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
I don't know how I feel about that, because I'm
still kind.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Of opposed to, you know, if you bring him out,
like for instance, if you watched any of the Bears vikings,
they brought out the Bears, they brought out Page as
like a wide receiver, just as.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
A a oh what are they going to do?
Speaker 1 (05:52):
And you know something is up and they end up
just running it for like two yards anyways, So it
kind of gives your hand like, well, something's happening, you know,
or running it or doing something weird. But we have
seen leak Willis throw the ball downfield successfully too in
Green Bay. So I.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Was against it and now I'm questioning it but open
to it.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Yeah, I get it. It's not something I want to
see every week, but he's just a really talented kid
with the ball in his hands, and he gives you
a dimension you don't have. So just something to keep
an eye on. As is MRI Monday, this is a
big day for the Packs medical team. The most concerning injury,
of course, that to Josh Jacobs, who left the game
early with the knee injury. Reports you know, national reports
(06:32):
over night, Tom Pelisara and others Packers believe he has
avoided significant injury, which obviously is great news. But until
we see the MRI and you still you see exactly
what's going on, you sort of hold your breadth because
if you want this Packers team to get where we want,
Josh Jacobs needs to be a part of it. Kudos
to Emmanuel Wilson, came in did his job, but the
(06:53):
Packers don't really have a replacement that that's going to
be anywhere near as productive is Josh Jacobs. So I'm
anxiously awaiting the MRI results and love shoulder is gonna
get checked out too. And I'm not just totally feeling
great about that. I understand he came back in and
looked great, but adrenaline all that stuff kind of goes
and then they look the next day and go, you
(07:14):
know what, he separated his shoulder. He's out for four weeks.
So it's a big day to day just to hear
the medicals and make sure that Jacobs, into a lesser
degree love have escaped anything major. So kind of holding
my breath because it was nice to see that running
game back. One hundred and sixty yards on the ground
in the first half. That's exactly what you hope to see,
especially against the defense that's terrible against the run, was
(07:37):
missing three or four defensive starters. We set it before
the game, I can't run on the New York Giants
right now, not sure who you're gonna run again. So
they checked that box. Now we've got to make sure
number eight's okay.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Yeah, and he's a huge part of that.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
I mean with all the rushers, Wilson, Jacobs, Melton, Willis
Brooks love five point six yards of carry, you take that.
And that was something we mentioned early on and I
remember when we crossed the twenty point mark.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
I'm like, all right, well, at least there's that we got.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
We got past twenty, so it just was I was
happy that it finally got back on track because if
that's the foundation of this offense, that's the way Lafloor
wants to do it, and thankfully they did it against
one of the worst rush defenses in the league.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
I haven't watched the All twenty two. I haven't watched
the game back, but I follow a lot of guys
that have taken closer looks at the Packers' running game,
and it sounds like Aaron Banks had had a really
good game. Finally, the Packers left guard, who we've all
been trashing because it's just been ugly. He's been hurt,
but he's not look effective when he's out there. And
whenever you're signed to a deal like he signed seventy
(08:45):
seven million, it looked like an overpay at the time.
Microscope is going to be on your performance. Can you
live up to that? He has not. But I'm gonna,
you know, give him his flowers today because I've seen
a number of plays where you focus on Aaron Banks,
look at him doing his job and he is moving people,
and if that's a sign of him either getting more
comfortable of the offense or being healthy, or just figuring
(09:08):
out that it's now or never, it's a really encouraging
sign as we get to this more difficult part of
the schedule, because as we've all talked about, if this
offensive line can't become a cohesive, productive unit, doesn't matter
how good Jordan Love is or Patrick Mahomes or anybody.
If you don't have a good line, you're in trouble.
So that's a I think, a very encouraging development up front.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Yeah, we do have to keep in context the opponent,
but baby steps are baby steps, and progress is progress.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
And if they don't, like I said, I compared.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Him to a drummer and a band, they have to
be good for anything else to work.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
And they're shuffled.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
And mixed, and Sean Ryan is the center and we
don't know who's where, and we have Tackles playing guard.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
So they're trying to just piece it together as best
they can.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
And again, I just don't want to complain about a
win because we've lost too straight at Lambeau, so I
want to be happy, But you know, it is still
the Giants, and I think we got to keep it
a little bit in perspective, but I.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Am happy, yeah, for sure. And it's because it was
so ugly. As you pointed out the top, the drops
were a real thing. They were five drops in the
first half, not just the secondary, just the receivers had
five drops in the first half. The Packers have been
credited for five drops throughout the first what nine eight
nine games of the season, so they had more drops
in the first half than they had all year. And
(10:27):
you know, kudos to Christian Watson for stepping up and
again just showing what a dynamic player he can be
when he is healthy. You know, Green Bay signed him
to that one year extension, you know, while he's managing
the ACL injury. Doing that, I think out of just
saying we know what you can be, and I feel
like it probably gave him just a lot of confidence,
(10:49):
Like this organization believes in me, even though I haven't
stayed on the field. Don't know what my future is
going to be, but they they said, we're gonna give
you this money. We believe And I don't know how
much that plays into a guy recuperating fast, being more
confident on the field, whatever it might be. But man,
ol man a week after week now, he is the
go to receiver for this team when you need a play.
We'll talk about the sav On Williams play as well,
(11:10):
but Watson first, the two touchdowns. The second one that
throw from Love into the wind on a bad snap
where he has to bring it down, throw it into
the wind into a corner where Watson's double covered. But
they figure, you know, he's tall, he's physical, he's big,
fifty to fifty ball, go get it. And he did.
And man, when you see Watson play like that, you
(11:31):
just remember some of the I remember the Cowboys game
a few years ago when I was at that game
where he had three touchdowns against Dallas and that was
sort of his coming out party, and he just say, boy,
oh boy, this kid, if he can stay healthy, he
has everything you want because he's got the speed, the size,
he blocks, he's got the mental matter. But he understands
the game and wants to be great. My takeaway, there's
(11:55):
several takeaways from this game, but for me, I think
almost number one is Chris Watson is the number one
receiver on this team for right now. He's not going
to get all the targets. He's not going to get
three touchdowns every game, but when you need a big play,
a big catch, you can trust number nine. And I
think Love and Watson they're starting to really really get
in rhythm together. I'm excited about if he can't stay healthy,
(12:16):
we know that's a big hip with Watson. The second
half of the season could be really fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
You know, I'm the furthest thing from a NFL coach
or a football coach.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
I don't know if I think.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
That well, Dobbs dropped it. So this next play, no
matter what, I'm going to Watson. I don't know if
that's how that works, but.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
It felt like as a viewer that's how it worked.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
It felt like Love tried going elsewhere and when all
was lost and we needed a completion, and he went
to Watson. And it was a very good week to
activate the starting roster of a fantasy team for Christian Watson.
It was a very good week for people who did that,
including myself.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So he is a big playmaker.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
And yeah, he did have the one drop that I
mean it technically is a drop, but it was a
tough catch to make it over the shoulder, Willie May
style catch, but he made up for it, and then
something with the touchdown. The second one in particular just unbelievable.
Even the first one is a tough catch as well.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Well, not as your friends, but we.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Absolutely love to see that, and that's what we've been
waiting for. The take the top off the defense type
receiver that he gets.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
The play that's set up the touchdown, winning drive, winning
score was the play of the game, and that was
the third and ten completion thirty three yards to save
Yon Williams. That can't watch that play enough. I mean,
it was, you know, the story of the day. I thought, offensively,
the Giants got a lot of pressure on Love throughout
the day. And that's not a surprise they have. You know,
(13:41):
their front line is just stock full of number one
picks Abdul Carter, Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence. They have a
talent up front, and they were they were winning that
Love was in duress all day long, and you know
he did a really good job. Again, you said at
thirteen for twenty four, people who didn't watch the game
are going to go, well, they won despite Love. I mean,
that's that's a terrible stat line. Take the drops into account.
(14:03):
He's probably nineteen for twenty four for two sixty, but
third and ten he's under duress. He's not escaping the pocket. Instead,
you see him saying go you know, telling the receivers
just go deep, just go deep. I got you. Flings
it up. Saveon Williams, who was on the field for
a grand total of two snaps in this game. That
was one of his two snaps. Saw Love's gesture, went deep,
(14:28):
got open and jumped up and caught a fifty to
fifty ball to keep that drive alive. I mean it's
fourth and ten. If they don't complete that pass, you're
down a point with four minutes to go. I mean,
the game literally was on the line, and here is
of all people, Saveon Williams adjusting mid play to what
his quarterback wanted, going up and making a big catch. Huge,
(14:48):
absolutely huge.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Another thing those box score readers do, who go, oh, well,
he only went thirteen for twenty four, so he must
not have been good. They'll see the one play, which
probably is that one to save on where it is
chak or off the back foot.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Oh, I can't keep getting away with that. He does
it consistently.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
He makes those completions all the time, So there's at
some point you have to go it isn't just blind luck,
it's a bleep at ball and throw it up there
and see what happens.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Like at some point you.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Have to just acknowledge that the guy is skilled and
he knows what he's doing, and they keep consistently coming
down with it.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
So he trusts his guys to go make a play
and they do.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Maybe instead of focusing on look at him throw off
his back foot, those people should look at the fact
that he has now engineered four fourth quarter comebacks on
the season, all on the road, three of them victories.
Want to tie, the tie in Dallas, the wins in Arizona, Pittsburgh,
and now New York. We're all fourth quarter comebacks. That's
something Rogers was not great at. That's something he was
criticized for a lot by those that were looking for
(15:51):
things to poke it at the resume, and you know
that doesn't show up on the stat sheet, that doesn't
show up for casual fans. But aultimately, what matters more
than anything is can you get your team to win
games from behind, whether it's Homer road. It wrote even
more impressively He's done it four times and we're ten
games into the season, and that, to me is the
(16:12):
most important stat you got to look at.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Completely agree. I don't know if we're done with the offense,
but my next got one more? But go ahead, one more? Well,
go ahead, because I have I have complaints about the
defense a little bit.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Yeah, yeah, well, no, I do too. The last thing
on the offense that struck me, and I didn't notice
it until I read it after the game. I don't
know if you noticed this. Luke musk Grave was on
the field for two snaps in the second half, basically
benched in the second half, and I don't know if
it was that drop that looked like it might be
a fumble that they had to review that thankfully was.
He didn't quite have possession, but it was really close.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
I thought it was incompletion pretty I thought it was
pretty obvious.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Yeah, he didn't fumble, He never really had the ball. Yeah,
but you know, it looked like he was turned and
it was close. But the point is you make the catch.
You have to make the catch. They saw enough of
Luke Muskgrave early on in the second half and said, no,
we'll just go with Fitzpatrick and Wiley. Wiley gets the
touchdown in the game, So antenna up on Luke musk Grave.
(17:17):
Maybe it's just pay bad day at the office. We
still believe in you. Maybe it's you know what, we'd
rather have guys that can block and give us a
little bit more, and we'll give up the guy that can,
you know, break through the seams and run down field.
We'll give that up for a more complete package. Maybe
it's an eye opening decision for Luke Muskgrave. But that's
just something I want to watch going forward because we
(17:38):
all thought, all right, he's not going to be Tucker Kraft,
but former second round pick's got some athleticisms, got some skills.
This is his chance. Maybe he opened something up. The
coaching staff was not impressed, and his butt was on
the bench for the second half. What do you got
you want to start with defense? Where do you want
to go?
Speaker 1 (17:56):
I have similar complaints to Arizona and that kind of
era of that game where I just felt like they
could not get off the field, and they mean, I
get Jameis Winston is more complete at this point in
time than Russell Wilson, But my gosh, I mean that's
been the issue. And they they did get the turnover
(18:19):
at the end, they could have had three or four
turnovers and overall they played well, but just how many
double digit play drives did we see it?
Speaker 2 (18:28):
And it's just running the ball right at them.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And it's not a Mica thing, it's a whole defense.
It's a unit thing where I just felt like they're run.
This is a feel not real thing. I just felt
like they were running all over us and whenever they
needed a big stop.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
On third down, they could not get it. So it
puts the offense in a tough spot where they've.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Got to be even more and that makes the drops
more meaningful. I just felt like the big third down
plays that couldn't get off the field.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Yeah, it's crazy. It's like one week you go, man,
this defense is so good, why can't the offense stand up?
And the next week defense looks nothing like what you
saw the previous week or two, and you go, why
can't they make a third down stop? Why can't they
get to Jamis Winston. I think back to the one
drive where they had the ball for like nine or
ten minutes, Packers get the ball back and the last
(19:18):
thing you wants to three and out because your defense
has been on the field for half an hour. And
remember it was like third and two and Love took
a deep shot to Watson on third and two, doesn't
come up with it, And now you're punting, and I'm thinking,
why would you take a You need to move the
chains here, give your defense a little more time. They
have to come right back on the field. And yeah,
(19:38):
I mean I think that played into it. It was
a thirty six minutes to twenty four time of possession.
The defense was out there a long long time on Sunday,
and it's not like you're facing dynamic weapons. Tyrone Tracy
should not run for one hundred yards if you think
you're a great defense. Now they ran for one hundred
and forty two yards against the pack. I'm thirty seven.
(20:00):
It's only three point eight yards of carry, which actually
doesn't sound terrible. But as you say, they just kept
moving the chains and talked about it going in. They
didn't have the quarterback, they didn't have their all world receiver,
didn't have their phenom rookie running back. They're down their
three most prolific offensive players, and yet they're still moving
the ball at will up and down the field. It's
(20:20):
it was concerning did Rashan Gary play? I don't remember
noticing him. That's a concern because the attention Micah gets
you watch it, there's guys all over him. Gary has
had a couple of really good games of late. This
was not one of them, and he ended up splitting
time with Enigbari. I think the coaching staff saw it
like he's not giving us any juice, he's not getting free,
(20:41):
he's losing one on one battles, and then mcbarie gives
us a little more juice. So that stood out to
me that the Packers got very little pressure on Jameis
Winston and he is a capable backup quarterback who can
start for you a few times. You feel good about it.
You knew he'd give you a juice. He's a leader.
Guys love to play for him. You knew the coaching
(21:02):
staff was going to go all out, go forward and
fourth downs, do whatever they could, and to their credit,
they played well. The Giants did play well on Sunday
and they knew they had a chance to knock off
a floundering team, but the pass rush was not good enough.
Winston was way too comfortable in the pocket. The run
defense was not good enough. But all that said, you
(21:22):
know what happens in the closing moments, right, Micah gets
the strip sack. At the end of the game. He
and McDuffie on fourth and three got a sack in
the red zone. So Micah seems to pick his time
to really affect football games. He's done it time and
time again this season. And when they had to make
a play, you know, obviously Evan Williams gets the interception
when the receiver kind of messes up high it on
(21:45):
the route. Look, they they were on the field a
long time. It was a tough day all that. I'm
not gonna suddenly trash. Jeff Haffley kind of glad they
didn't shine in New York. We talked about half weeah, Yeah,
it wasn't a great day at the office for the defense.
And you know, now we've got three straight division games
(22:06):
and they get really important, and you just hope that
we see this defense, you know, stand up and do
their thing. You're not going to face a really prolific
offense in Minnesota this week, but Detroit and Chicago Beck
and those teams. Although Detroit had a rough game Sunday night.
We know those teams can move the ball. So yeah,
not a great day at the office for Jeff Affley's defense.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
It's certainly true that Mike is the closer.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
He's been, you know, taught as that before, and he
does pick his spots and in the big moments he
usually is there. I wish, you know, I thought he
had a lot of pressures. I haven't seen the actual numbers.
I felt like he was in the vicinity of Jamis
a cup handful of times at least, but didn't really
get there until the very end. But the book is
(22:50):
out in my opinion, and earplugs to Kevin O'Connell. I'm
sure he already knows. If you want to be an
underdog team against Green Bay and have a chance, you
keep the offense off the field as long as you
humanly can. And that's what the Panthers did. That's what
Arizona did a lot. Just play keep away and run
(23:14):
the ball, and run the clock and be as slow
as humanly possible, turn the two clock setting on and men,
and just be annoying. And it seems like it tires
out the defense and it it rusts up the offense.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
To where they don't execute as well.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
And it stinks that we're at that point, but that's
what they do. So something's got to change. Whether it's
a better run defense on first and second down, if
it's better not playing zone defense as much, I don't know,
but that seems to me the book to beat this team.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Yeah, and that's to make excuses, but kuway Walker left
the game early third quarter with the stinger, and that's
a big loss. You lose your leading tackler and sort
of the quarterback of your defense, and now you drop
to Isaiah McDuffie and Tyron Hopper, And obviously that's a difference.
And we'll check on Quay's situation. It sounds like he
sounded it. Afterwards he'll be okay. He feels like he's
not going to miss any time. But obviously we'll waiting
(24:07):
to hear on that. A lot of guys left the game,
Golden Dobbs, Zach Tom felt like half the offense was
in and out of this game on Sunday. Interesting to
me that Canard is the backup right tackle when Tom
goes out. I always thought Anthony Belton might be the
guy they're looking at the step in. But I don't
know if that's a bad sign that your second round
pick doesn't appear to be your top eight in your
(24:29):
top eight just yet. But you know, Conard stepped in
for a few plays till Tom got his act together.
He's you know, been up and down with that back injury,
and this team needs Zach Tom out there, especially with
the pass rushers they are going to face as these
division games happen. So all those injuries, a lot of
those guys came back in the game. But obviously, as
we talked about Love and Jacobs, the two we're going
(24:51):
to hear most are most concerned about. And we'll here,
I'm not concerned about Love, but just let's just make
sure the shoulders. Okay, I just a your quarterback an arm,
not his throwing arm, but you know it gives you pause.
You just want to make sure that's okay. You mentioned
Daniel Wheeling, he's your guy. He got one of the
three game balls, Watson, Evan, Williams and Wheelan, and you
(25:15):
know it gets lost in the shuffle, but the Packers
clearly understood what Daniel wheel And did on Sunday, tilting
that feel that that last punt was huge, pushing the
Giants deep as they were looking to make a last push.
That kid such an unrecognized hero for this team. I
know you and I text more about Daniel Wheeling than
(25:37):
I think any other Packer player during games because we
understand that we've seen bad punting. Every team has bad
punters over the years. But when you have a good one,
you really recognize and appreciate what a difference he can make.
And on a day where the winds were swirling and
every kick was an adventure and the Giants certainly shanked
a couple, you can count on Daniel wheel And to
(25:58):
take care of business, whether snap's crappy, the conditions, he
was big time and a big factor in that win.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
On Sunday, I ask an Iowa Hawkeye fan how good
how good having a good punter is.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
It changes the game, And especially in a day where.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
The defense can't particularly get off the field in a
timely manner, you make him go as long as humanly possible.
And Daniel Wheeling is unbelievable. It seems like no matter
how far in they are, he'll get them to wherever.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
They need to go. I mean, sixty seventy yard kicks it's.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
A thing of beauty car carrying member appreciate society for
Daniel Wheel and he is unbelievable to deserve the game
ball even though he had a bad snap given to him,
and then liacens in for one of the field goals that.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Looked horrendous if you look past that. There was a moment.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
I don't know if you had this feeling as well,
speaking of special teams after the touchdown, I think it
or no, it was there was a punt return late
and I thought, oh no, here we go again and
special teams bite us in the ass.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
And they didn't. They it was actually good punk coverage.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
But I had that moment of fear, like this is
how it ends. Is the special teams blow it and
they give up a big punk return and here we
go to overtime against the damn Giants.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
So but not that. I thought the coverage was mostly good,
The wheeling was good.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Haversick tough day, but we'll give him a pass because
of the wins. And they didn't totally cost us the game.
And that's the bar eventually for Packers. Special teams don't
cost the entire game, that's.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
All we ask. And yeah, the first half or sick
kick again. I felt like that was on him the
second one, as you mentioned, terrible snap. Now the hole
comes down, the laces are facing him. I mean, that's
just difficult. So I'm going to also let him off
the hook. The Giants missed one as well, terribly young
ho Ku. I was a tough day at the office,
and it was not an easy, easy game to win.
(27:52):
You don't apologize for one possession wins against two win teams.
You can, you don't need to. Packers have now won
five games this season, five of their six wins coming.
They've scored twenty seven points, which is their magic number
at this point. Oddly enough, at six three and one,
they actually pass up the Lions in the second place.
We're all looking up at the Bears in the NFC
(28:13):
North this morning in mid November. That's a real sentence
that I just said. In the year twenty twenty five,
somehow the Bears find a way to keep on winning,
and it's an interesting story and one to watch. We'll
get our first shot at them in a couple of weeks.
One thing we haven't talked about yet, just briefly, as
we close this thing down, looking again at the offense.
(28:34):
That's what we were focused on coming into this game
after two duds at Lambeau. Here, you go on the
road against a bad defense, missing key players, you got
to show up. And you know, we talked about the
running game getting going and love being really good. The
stat that gets me most excited four for four in
the red zone after these struggles the last two weeks.
(28:56):
I mean, what one for five against Carolina on the
road in a tough environment with crappy weather conditions. Four
for four in the red zone, seven for eleven on
third down. They made plays when it mattered, and to me, ultimately,
that's a good sign. As we head to the home stretch,
the final seven games, and we all know five division
(29:17):
games left, they're all important. Going to Denver is going
to be tough. Lamar Jackson's coming to the house. You're
going to have to be successful, proficient in the red zone.
Going four for four against a mediocre or less defense,
I'll take that. But you did it. You accomplish what
you had to do and that's something I'm sure the
coaches will look at and go, that's what we have
to do to somehow get wins in this league.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Yeah, and it's not, you know, an amazing step on
the moon, but it's a first step.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
It's a step. Nonetheless, it doesn't matter how big it is.
And anything was better than the offense we've gotten the
last two weeks.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
So I'll take any bit of progress, any bit of
optimism that I could possibly squeeze.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Out of this game.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
There is plenty to be squeezed. It is just under
the underlying feeling of well it is the Giants, you know, well,
it is a bad football team with a bad defense
and a beat up offense that's their third choice of
quarterback by their standards, and a backup coach.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
But the offense still look good. Love make good throws.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
The running game was back, and Lafleur isn't a big
talker this week as far as his play calling, everything
seemed to work out. Neither the blood pressure was high.
It still ended up getting a win and somewhat back
on track.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
Yeah, and now we'll just hold our brother. I think
Josh Jacobs is going to miss some time. We'll see
how much time it is. Hopefully it's not a lot,
but we'll get results on the knee. And he's been
a work course, a warrior, he rarely misses games. But
here's a really good chance you'll get two more games
here in the next ten days. And I don't know
that you're going to see Josh Jacobs for the Vikings
and Lions. And so that's another tough thing for this
(30:54):
Packers offense because now what you got, You've got Emmanuel
Wilson and Chris Brooks and is Marshawn Lloyd available? Is
he on the team? I mean, do you get to
at a running back? So that's for another day. We
can take the Monday and take the win and know
that that two game losing streak is a thing of
the past. It's Vikings week coming back to Lambeau. Let's
(31:15):
see if Love's okay, Jacobs's knee is quay? And is that?
How did everybody come out of this game? How ready
are there? Are they unhealthy? For this divisional gauntlet? The
next three weeks should be fun. I'll be looking forward
to joining Pa and the kfan crew at Buffalo Wildings
Blaine on Friday. So if you're up in Blaine and
you want to wear your green and gold and support me,
(31:36):
I'll be up there eleven o'clock joining Pa on his
Friday Football Feast, Brett and I will be back for
Packer preview. Previewing Packers Viking Sunday morning, bright and early
seven am on Kfam or whenever you wake up on
the iHeart app. Thanks for listening, have a great week
and as always, go pack
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