#344 Packers Unscripted: Back from the bye

to three two and one at the bye week. We all know this tough road schedule the Packers have coming up, and I tell you what, thinking back to that Monday night football game when the Packers went forward on fourth and goal midway through the fourth quarter and didn't get it, it wasn't looking too good. No, it wasn't. I mean, the one thing we've always learned, when Aaron Rodgers is your quarterback and you make a couple of stops on defense,

comebacks can always happen. And they've have been once again in this game. What what stands out to me the most about it going into the bye week and now into this matchup with the Rams, was the Packers and I think Davanta Adams talked about it afterwards. When they need points, when they need yards, they can get them. That's really been the biggest thing. They have had their times where it's been you know, tough going, but for the most part, they've been able to get production when

they need it most. And I think the fact that I believe now their fourth in total offense in the league right now kind of signifies that certainly want to be able to finish off some of those drives a little bit more not you know, play a little bit cleaner, mistake free football, cut down on the penalties, but to be three two and one too, whether some of the storms that they did to get to this point, I

think it's really important. And in my biggest takeaway honestly from that game was the fact that they got Jimmy Graham going. You saw what he could do in the open field. They had three guys i'll go over receiving yards in that contest, and at the end of the day, Aaron Rodgers just made some magical things happen once again, Yeah, some statistical things in case anybody missed it. In the aftermath,

Aaron Rodgers throws for four twenty five yards. He actually becomes the first Packers quarterback in team history to throw for more than four hundred yards and back to back games. And you mentioned the three receivers going over a hundred yards. Davante Adams, Jimmy Graham and Marquez Valdez Scantling all go over a hundred. That was the first time the Packers had done that. I believe it was against the Yeah,

against the against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So um, some neat statistical things there, but also West, I tell you what if anybody in the NFL has ever gone from the outhouse to the penthouse in eight days. Boy, what

a night for Mason Crosby. Coming off the worst game of his career, as we had talked about in Detroit, he comes back and makes all seven of his kicks against San Francisco, including a fifty plus yard field goal, including the game winner as a walkoff kick to get the Packers this thirty three to thirty victory after a tremendous two minute drive put together by Aaron Rodgers in the receiving corps. Just a great way for this one to end and for every anybody wondering how's Mason Crosby

going to handle things. He showed exactly how he handles it. Yeah, he handles it like a pro. He handles it like a guy who's been doing this for over a decade. And I think if you talk to anybody in that locker room might not at least know all the guys that I did. Afterwards, I asked Tremont Williams about it, and he said, if you've been around Mason Crosby long enough, you know the way he's built and what he's been through in this league. He wasn't gonna let a performance

like Detroit get him off of his path. He was going to reset, he was going to correct what he needed to do, and he was going to go out there and hit the football. Now. The one thing that you can't mistake, though, was the fact that Mason Crosby said it was probably one of the longest weeks of his career as a kickers A lot to think about you and I saw it before the game. He was the first guy from the packer's sideline that was down on the field just walking around, wasn't even doing any

warm upsolutely, just walking going through his process. If there's a week he probably wanted a Thursday night game. It would have been this one after what happened on that Sunday in Detroit. I'm sure he just wanted to get out and get into another game because he knew that was the best way to put it behind. And he made some big kicks, man, I mean he had the fifty one yard or certainly they got into a really good situation with the back shoulder pass to Equinimia st

Brown on the sideline. Davante Adams gets another catch, makes it a chip shot field goal for him, But still he needed to make that kick even before that, Mike, how important was that extra point? When the Packers finally come back, they have an opportunity to tie it. That's

a really important kick. I just thought from a field goal operations standpoint, Mason Crosby and being able to put Detroit in the rear view mirror and becoming the NFC Special Teams Player of a Week the following week, it's just a credit to his mental toughness, is an ability

to bounce back. Yeah, you mentioned the extra point that ties up the game, and we've seen since the NFL moved this extra point back to thirty three yards these are not the gimmes they were at twenty yards, And in fact, Baltimore's Justin Tucker misses the first extra point of his career two hundred and twenty two combined twenty yards thirty three yarders but two hundred two extra points in a row in his career, and he misses one, and Baltimore loses to the Saints twenty four to twenty

three on what should have been for them, what they were thinking was a tying touchdown in the last minute of the game. Packers were in that same situation. Mason Crosby makes the kick, you know, after having obviously hit the upright on an extra point the previous week in Detroit. So all these moments, the pressure is there, and uh,

obviously sometimes you come through, sometimes you don't. But what Crosby went through to then go from that performance in Detroit to the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, that's that's gonna be a memorable moment in in in his career, in a very decorated career. And the thing you got to remember, too, is just how much he means to this team, how much he means to Mike McCarthy.

You've heard Aaron Rodgers talk about him. He saw the clip of him at the Detroit game, just coming and kind of, you know, mussing up his hair a little bit and just trying to, you know, tell him, you know what we got you. It's okay. Things like this happened. It's a tough game. The thing I go back to, though, Mike is stability. A kicker, to me is still one of the most important things in the NFL today, and it has to be a good kicker. I'm not saying just stand by a guy who's making six out of

every tent. But you see these teams where I think the best example this isn't to throw the Bears under the bus, but the best example is what happened with Robbie Gold. They made a decision that it was time to move on from him. Gold ends up going to San Francisco and has this resurgence in his career because the reality is, it's not easy to kick in the NFC North. It's not easy to take a kicker that's never been in those elements and just throw them out

there and expect the best. It's a tough, tough climate to be a participant in. If you're kicking the ball, and Aaron Rodgers discussed how gold In Mason Crosby are two of the best to ever do it. The Packers have been through a lot of wars with Mason Crosby and staying with him through all that ultimately has helped

them win a lot of those games. Yeah. Well again, looking back at the San Francisco game on the defensive side of the ball for the Packers, once again, at was kind of a good news bad news situation in that the bad news is they we're up and down. The first half was not the type of defense the Packers want to play. The second half was, but this defense has not been able to iron out those inconsistencies just yet. You hope, Okay, the bye week, some guys

maybe get healthier. You're gonna be facing you know, obviously the Rams and the Patriots too high powered offenses these first two weeks coming out of the by But this Packers defense needs to needs to find some sort of reliable level of play that the coaching staff and the rest of the team can rely upon because this, uh, this roller coaster thing, quite frankly west has been going on too long. Yeah it has, and I mean it's

just the way that the game has structured. Obviously, it's a very offensive football game now, so trying to figure out how you're going to be able to attack those schemes is going to be important. I thought in the end, the Packers did what they needed to do in that contest. Defensively, What did we say the whole week, You have to win the turnover margin, You have to win that battle. It took the ball way three times. Yeah they did. They did finally flip that script in terms of getting

on the plus side and turnovers. If you're gonna give up yards, if you if there's gonna be situations like that, you have to find ways to take away the football. And you know how Clinton Dicks did that with the force fumble. I mean, you look at Raven Green and you know James Crawford getting together for one on a special team's place, stealing in early possession. Packers turned both

of those into uh six points. And Kevin king Man, I mean, he made the biggest play of his career at a time in which the Packers desperately needed it. You and I had some mixed thoughts on be third in the decision of Kyle Shanahan to throw their believe it was a third and three situation or third and five situations. It was third and three, I believe. Afterwards, will Clay Matthews said that actually probably was the right call there because the Packers were kind of moving guys up.

They were going to try to, you know, push the box a little bit, and they got single high cover and not even single high zero. It was one on one. Just has to make that play or it could be a potential big play. King makes it, they get to take away and they're able to go and finish off that contest. That's what you need. But yes, ultimately it's still about stitching together those four quarters of complete football. The defense is still looking to do that. We'll see

what this week holds for them. As of Tuesday, they will practice, but they're actually not going to be forced to submit an injury report. So it's gonna probably have to wait and see how close a guy like jyr Alexander is going to be the potential to being back in the cards. But if they could get all four of those corners together, Tremon Williams and the three young guys, I'll go a long way and bland in that conversation

as well. Yeah, just to backtrack for a second, I think I think what surprised me about the forty Niners clock management there on that final drive is just we've seen so many times in that situation a tie game, Aaron Rodgers is moving the team down the field, and it's not just about getting in position to get the points. It's about draining the clock and not giving the other team, not giving the other quarterback any opportunity to come back

the other way. And it just seemed like they had I believe it was second and three even before the interception, and they were throwing the football. The Packers had no time outs, forts had all of theirs. They were in complete control of the clock and everything they wanted to do, and it just seemed like they were in this big hurry. They had a very reliable kicker and Robbie Gold like you talked about. I was just surprised that they were

that aggressive. But that's Kyle Shanahan, that's that that's who he is. He's always going to to play that way. And they did get the coverage they wanted. They got the Packers in a blitz. There was no safety help.

Kevin King was one on one and and for my money, that was one heck of a play because he's got to stay with this guy, he's got to turn his head at the right time, find the football, and then he ends up hanging onto it as as the two players are crashing to the ground, and he gives Aaron Rodgers that chance to win in regulation as opposed to possibly having a good overtime. I've said it time and time again, and certainly we're gonna have to you have to wait five ten years to to look back on drafts.

But if Kevin King stays healthy, what the dimension he brings this defense? And honestly, Mike, it's one they haven't had because when you go back and look at their top flight corners in the past, it's guys like Sam Shields. It's guys like Tremont Williams, Guys that were undrafted free agents that sort of caught people by surprise, had had some intangibles, but ultimately just made their style work to

what the packers needed. And you look at a guy like, you know, obviously Charles Woodson came in with a different pedigree when they signed him. Sure, but Kevin King, I think has a really great makeup for the position to be not only have all those when you look at the speed and the height and everything, but working with Joe Wood Jr. Being able to hone those skills. Now his ceiling, man, it's it's sky high. And now you get guys like Jr. Alexander involved in Josh Jackson, another

draft pick. The Packers invested in those corners, and there's still things they need to do better defensively, but the future of that position is really bright for reasons like King. Yeah, and I want to see, as you mentioned before, how this week goes in practice with regards to the health

of Jiar Alexander. He's been out now with a groin injury, but if he comes back and as you said, Packers went into the season within whatever or do you want to put him in King, Williams, Jackson, and Alexander as the top four cornerbacks and Mike Petton likes to play with four cornerbacks on the field, certainly on third downs, but we just haven't had gotten to see that combination a whole lot because of the injuries to King and Alexander. So that could be a big thing for this defense

moving forward. And you tip your caps. You know, guys like Germaine white Head have been able to sort of stem the tide for them there, and they've had a lot of guys step up in that regard and play different spots. But I think everybody saw what Alexander can do as a nickel slock cornerback and the versatility that Josh Jackson has shown being inside or outside and having that flexibility. It's a really good potential for the Packers.

And as you've seen with a lot of these young corners who can get better throughout the course of the season, the more work that they get. It's gonna be really exciting to see if you can get all four of them out there. You know what that group can do. Yeah, no doubt about it. Um. Well, quickly, let's here some sponsor business at home or here in the stands. We all know that Green Bay fans give it their all and that takes a lot of energy. So grab a

warm bowl of Campbell's Chunky soup. It's meaty goodness fuels the greatness of Packers fans everywhere. Try the delicious classes chicken noodle soup. Just visit your local supermarket and ask for Campbell's Chunky Soup, the official sup partner of the Green Bay Packers. Okay, the Los Angeles Rams are on the docket this week. They are seven and o West, undefeated and really announcing themselves as the team to beat in the NFC, I think, along with the New Orleans Saints.

I want to get into some more detail with regards to the Rams in tomorrow's show, but it's worth looking at right now since the Packers were off. What happened over the bye week in the NFL I mentioned the Rams. They took care of business against the forty nine. They are seven and oh. We mentioned the Saints winning by one point against Baltimore with Justin Tucker's missed extra point, So the Rams, I'm sorry. The Saints have just one

loss and uh. And then in the NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings moved back into first place with a road victory over the Jets. The Chicago Bears lose on a hail Mary that comes up one yard short against the New England Patriots. The Bears lose by seven to fall to three and three. The Lions win and they get to three and three. So right now in the NFC North, all four teams nobody in the NFC North is below five hundred with either six or seven games on the docket.

It's it's really interesting how this is taking shape. We said the division was going to be good, Michael, We really did. And you know, and I also was mentioning too. I at no point did I think that the Vikings weren't real. I mean that that that is a real competitive football team, a team that has Super Bowl aspirations, that wants to finally bring a Lombardi Trophy to Minneapolis

in the Twin Cities. And it was a good performance for them to be able to go and beat a Jets team that I think felt like they were getting a little bit of momentum worked in their favor. They turned things around. The Patriots have done exactly what I think we expected them to do to they bounce back from some losses early in the season. Now they're at

five and two. The Bears, I'm sure there's no moral victories, but I'm sure Matt Nagy's telling those guys that that's the crema, the cream of the crop right now in the NFL. And you've played them, you know, right to the final whistle. So well, I think if you're the Bears.

The thing that you're lamenting is not even so much the Hail Mary that comes up one yard short, but the fact that you lose to the Patriots by seven, and you gave up fourteen points on special teams, a kickoff return for a touchdown, a block punt for a touchdown. From the offense defense side of things, the Bears won the football game. They really were the better team in a lot of ways. The Patriots were kind of sloppy with the football with some turnovers early that gave the

Bears the lead, but two special teams touchdowns. That's awfully hard to overcome, and Mr Bisky did everything he could to try to overcome it, but but it just wasn't to be. No, And the thing I think actually surprised me the most about the Bears earlier this season is their running game really hasn't driven them as much as I thought they were going to the last couple of weeks,

they've actually put in Robinsky's hands a lot. Yeah, they're they're trying to find that running game because they definitely want that to be to be a really strong complimentary piece to their to their young up and coming quarterback. But that that running game just hasn't found the footing, so to speak, that everybody expected it to have him the get go. Yeah, and Cohen has been a difference

maker as a pass catcher. But you know, I think Jordan Howard, at least me, maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention to the Bears, but I was just anticipating that he's gonna be a guy that you just jotted down for a thousand yards each season. Yeah, because he's gonna get a hundred, you know, two twenty five touches and he's gonna make the most out of him. They've been off to a slow start right now, so there

are three and three. It was a tough loss. They did go up some team some points on special teams. But it's gonna be interesting to see how they bounced back from that because they played him tough. But when you look at a statuet on him, it just wasn't didn't appear to be as close as what you know, kind of looked. Yeah, and another big game coming up. Obviously, the Packers have a big one against the Rams, but the rematch of the miracle in Minneapolis will take place

on Sunday. I guess that'll be when we're flying back from l A. Because I believe it's Sunday night. I believe it's Sunday night football is the What I'm talking about, of course, is the Saints at US Bank Stadium in Minnesota, UM to UH two contenders, rematch of last year's playoff game. That should be a pretty interesting one because the Vikings now they're you know, they're trying to get the momentum going on their side. They put up thirty seven points

against the Jets. The Saints are as are as hot as any team except the undefeated Rams. The Saints having lost in Week one to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they've won every game since then, including you know, some really tough road victories, and this will be another tough road test for New Orleans. Yes, the thing I love about so the Rams are just running through everybody right like they're the Their offense is so complete. They obviously

do a lot of things well defensively. The Saints to me are almost like kind of they are winning games obviously, but they're just sort of having to like scratching cloth through this entire schedule so far. They did it again in this game against the Ravens, and you know, it was an impressive performance. Obviously, Elvin Kamara is what he is and downten going into the fourth quarter. If I'm not mistaken, on the road, they come back and win

the ballgame. They find ways to to get it done. So, yeah, it's just New Orleans one of those teams that just it feels like, you know, any given week they can beat anybody, and potentially any given week they could lose anybody. But they have done things well. They've done some good things defensively. I think they right now are tops in the league and run defense. So seeing how the Vikings match up with that, it's it is gonna be a

really good game. And the fact of the matter is too Mike kirk Cousins is the quarterback now and the Vikings signed him because they're trying to get over that hump.

Be interesting to see how he matches up with the Saints. Yeah, and if anybody's wondering just how topsy turvy this NFC might get, all you have to do is look at the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, three and four now through seven games, after blowing a seven team to nothing lead at home to a very competitive Carolina team that has now announced itself in that NFC South along with the New Orleans Saints. Is hey, here we are. You better start paying attention to us. I love that

nobody's running the ball either. Isn't that great? Like, I mean, obviously Mike McCarthy, he says he wants to get the running game more touches, and people are like, well, why are in certain players getting these amount of perhaps like look at this, alright, Philadelphia leading rusher was Small Smallwood nine carries for thirty two yards for the For the Panthers, it was Christian McCaffrey had seven carries for twenty nine yards. You I can go back to the game with the

Saints and Ravens. I think the leading rusher, I mean you had Kamara had like twelve carries. But like, nobody's getting twenty carries in It's just that isn't the game we play. But hey, here's the thing that's surprising to me about the Eagles is that for the most part, and I'm only watching from you know, a distance, but it seems like Carson Wentz has played okay, zach Ertz is having a career year for a tight end, it seems like, but they just have not been able to

get the job done. They faced some good opponents. I mean that there are three and four records that their four losses are against some good teams. Yeah, welcome to having a first place schedule, but you got to get it done against those teams. So um Yeah, a lot of a lot of rallying that they need to do right now. Because here's the thing is Washington, Mike, and I know you had some reservations about them, Sure you still do. They're keeping themselves in this thing. Dallas goes

and trades for Marie Cooper. That division is competitive. So I mean it's it's the Cowboys hit the upright on the potential game tying field goal there in Washington escapes with a big home victory. So I mean, you gotta you gotta be able to pick up these wins, and you've gotta be able to take care of business. But I think it goes back to something you and I

were saying before the bye two. Outside of really the Rams and obviously the Saints are often good starts, it's wide open, ye, And that's why all these games have, you know, huge significance. Yeah, it is absolutely wide open. Well. We will get to a lot more in depth look at the Los Angeles Rams the upcoming opponent on tomorrow's show, but for now we're going to call it a rap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team on Packers dot

com on Twitter. He's still at west Hod, I'm still at Mike Spofford at Packers is still the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, See you next time.