#387 Packers Unscripted: Last chance

I think there are a lot of different directions, a lot of ways the Packers can win this game on Sunday. Where do you want to start? Well? I think the biggest one for me when I look at this matchup with the lines is these are two really banged up football teams when you look at not only what the the injury report looks like this week, but the size of both the injury reserves for both of these teams. So for me, I think the thing that I that it's really going to be about which team overcomes their

deficiency is better. I think you look at the Lions right now, in this aftermath of losing carry on Johnson for the season. You know, Marvin Jones Jr. Two was a big hit too, But Johnson was sort of their bright spot. They were dedicating more to the running game, and he was averaging over five yards of carry, got them a hundred yard performance this season. It really does look like a menace for the NFC North and years

to come. But without him, like Garrett Blunt only averaging two point eight yards per carry, they just, you know, theoretic is more of a running or more of a pass catching running back, so it puts more on the shoulders and Matthew Stafford, and last week they just couldn't get their passing game going despite that fast start against

the Vikings. So from my perspective, I think the Packers, if they're able to contain Stafford, if you're able to eliminate those big plays to the Kenny galadays, I think the Packers are going to be able to come out of this thing victorious. Yeah. When you look at what the Packers have done against the run the last couple of weeks, really a run defense being led by the two Northwestern alums on that defensive line in Dean Lowry

excuse me, and the undrafted rookie Tyler Lancaster. You know, I like the Packers run defense to continue doing what it's doing, which is going to put this game for the Lions offensively in the hands of Stafford, and Golladay is his big play guy. And you mentioned carry On Johnson and obviously the future we could be seeing with him in the NFC North. I think goladays, you know,

falls into that same category. He made the big play down the sideline in the first half in Detroit in the first meeting between these two teams, I believe was a sixty yard pass was part of the Lions jumping out to that big lead that the Packers could not overcome. But I'm with you. I think, if if the Packers can contain Golladay and not give up any of those big type of explosive plays to him. Um, the way this Packers defense is playing, I I like, I like

Green Bays chances of keeping this offense under wraps. Yeah. It is interesting though, because right now he has seventy catches for a thousand and sixty three yards behind him is theoretic with sixty one, but he only has three four and then really there isn't a lot of bodies at that spot. Marvin Jones Jr. And Bruce Ellington are both on injury reserve. Golden Tate was traded, like we

talked about earlier in the week. Yeah, so they've been sort of this uh, you know, I don't want to call it a hodgepodge, but there just hasn't been a consistent three four weapon kind of diversity with that offense. And as we've talked about on so many of these episodes, Mike, in the aftermath of Kelvin Johnson his retirement, that was one of the things I thought really helped Matthew Stafford get comfortable, as the fact that he did have a bevy of different weapons to turn to in the passing

game that's not there for them right now. So and it's interesting because now all the headlines you're seeing out of Detroit are what's the status with Jim Bob Cooter as their offensive coordinator when a couple of years ago he was the toast of the town that Calvin Johnson had left and Detroit's offense actually got better and Couder and Stafford sort of had you know, this, uh, this rapport going and and that offense was very, very dangerous,

and suddenly it's it's not like that anymore, and there's all kinds of questions as to the future with the offensive leadership there. It's funny how, especially in the coaching ranks, how perceptions can change fast. And look at uh I think it was was a Terrell Austin all those years. Yeah, on the defensive side of the Lyons was considered a really big supreme coaching candidate when he had Adamican, Sue

and Nick Fairley and had some head coaching interviews. If if I recall Andre Levy, I mean, they had so many different guys in that defense that were really big playmakers. And then he ends up having his departure and then wasn't able to recapture that success in Cincinnati. It's just sometimes the way that this business goes. But but from the Packers perspective, they've seen Matthew Stafford when he's at his best and when he's able to control the temple of a game and get the ball quickly out of

his hands. You've also seen what you can do with him when you do take away the foot all when you do be able to get him throwing off of his back foot and forsaking some of the fundamentals. So when you look at just as pure keys to victory. The Packers trying to get their first winning streak of the season to end the season, trying to avoid losing four consecutive games to the Lions, and you know, thirty five years. This is what I think is the biggest

path to victory. It's Mike Petton's defense being able to contain Galady. Keeping a safety over the top of him, I think is going to be optimal just by how he stresses you and some of those Cover two and Cover zero looks. So uh, That's gonna be the big thing for me is just seeing exactly what the plan of attack is for the Packers, specifically if you don't have jyr Alexander available do that groin injury. Yeah, that's

another one that we're waiting on. And on the offensive side of the ball for the Packers, we're also waiting to find out, excuse me, if Davante Adams, who did not practice Wednesday or Thursday due to the knee injury. Um kind of a sore knee, I guess, is the way he termed it from the New York Jets game. Whether or not he'll be out there on Sunday. You know, he wants to be out there with these records, franchise

records that we've talked about that he is chasing. But on that side of the ball for the Packers, I think when I look at this in from the keys to victory standpoint, I tell you what West, If Jamal Williams plays another game like he did against the Jets, with the rushing yards, the receiving yards, the blitz pickups and all of the things that he did that were so such a focal point of the offense from start to finish. I mean, what was it, eighty six out

of ninety one snaps that he played. He barely took a break in that game. If Williams stacks another game like that one from last week, a hundred and fifty plus yards from scrimmage and and uh everything else that he helped out with pass protection wise, I like, uh, certainly like the Packers chances to uh to do some damage against the trade. Yeah, the Packers needed to make hey against the Jets just based on you know, it's been a tough year for New York with their run defense.

I think right now they're twenty six. But the thing that impressed me the most with Williams is as you said, the things he did in the other facets of the game, him as a pass catcher, him stepping up into pass protection when Mike McCarthy was featuring him and Jamal or him and Aaron Jones trying to get both of them going.

It wasn't just for the sake of doing it. There was a mindset there, There was a mentality And the fact of the matter is is when you look at the total package, all around package, you know Jamal Williams is their best guy in that way where Aaron Jones gives you the home run threat and gives you that big play potential every single time he touches the ball. It's why they compliment each other so well. Yea, So in this game, I mean, you're looking at a Detroit

run defense that's better. But I mean, you know, Jared Davis has had his ups and downs this season. I mean you look at the front that they have. There's been some changes along that as well. Um so, but I really do believe, especially in these kind of weather conditions, Jamal Williams is built for this. So I mean, if you're able to get him twenty touches again, get him over a hundred total yards. Again, I don't here if it's as a running back pass, you know, passing, I

don't care if he throws the ball. I mean, if you're able to get him involved the way they did last week, it's gonna make things infinitely easier on Aaron Rodgers. It's been that way going back to two thousand fourteen with Eddie Lacy, it was that way going back to two thousand nine and two thousand and ten with Brandon Jackson and Ryan Grant. I mean, it's just the way it goes in this offense and the way things are structured.

If you get that type of contribution every single down where you have, the defense has to respect Jamal Williams and what they're gonna do with them. Aaron Rodgers is going to be really productive. Yeah, and also on the offensive side of the ball for the Packers. Randall Cobb was back at practice, cleared from the concussion protocol from what had happened in the Chicago game a couple of weeks ago. As I said, UM still not certain exactly

what Davante Adams status will be. We talked on our last show about seeing the two rookie receivers eq st Brown and Marquez Felda Scantling both having high impact games in the same contest last week. Obviously you'd like to see that continue, do you do you see maybe one of these guys or the other, just based on matchups, potentially being the guy that has a big game on Sunday. St Brown needs to clear the concussion protocol, you know,

to be in that conversation, but he does. He is the guy that that would project is probably the more of the slot threat that Randall cop sort of fills. Velda Scandling has shown he can play that role as well, but they've had to be a little bit more specific and how they move the pieces. You've seen Davante Adams play that spot. Sometimes when you have mvs on the outside, you can see some of those tight ends being able

to move over there. Honestly, that the guy I actually think that's going to have maybe the biggest opportunity of this game is Jake kumro Um and not just to get all the fans REVVD up in everything, but there was a comment that Davante Adams made when I was talking to him in the locker room afterwards, and he reiterated it this week when he was asked about kumarrow in that he is exactly what a quarterback once in terms of where he is in his responsibility, his ability

to fulfill that assignment. Um, if you want him going on a crosser, he's going to be exactly where he needs to be in the progression at that moment where the quarterback wants to find him. He does the same thing on you look at Um. You know it was a broken play, but him running that that kind of corner route last week and being able to get the forty nine yard touchdown Rogers puts it right where it needs to be and Kumar ruins up making a nice play where he brings the ball back inside and looks

ut field. His mindset as a receiver is I think something that's going to make him successful in this league.

Adams joked that even though he has been kind of helping him with a few things, that Kumar actually is older than him, but there's still so much untapped potential with his game, and I think the Packers one of the things this offseason, however, the coaching staff sorts out really are gonna want to take a look at this guy and potentially the ways you can use him because he has a very intriguing skill set that goes beyond just the measurables that you see with MVS and e

Q st Brown. He's a football player first and foremost, and I think you know this game specifically, if he ends up getting more reps, if if St. Brown can't go, or depending on what their plan is for for for Cobb being then this matchup, I just think he's the

kind of guy that could really blow the top off it. Well, with the Whitewater background, the home state guy, and everything that's gone into Jake Kumero's story, if he finds the end zone on Sunday he did against the Jets, we might hear the loudest roar we've heard at lambeau Field in quite a while. Because the fans are behind this guy. They know he was a big star at Whitewater, winning national championships in Division three there and everything u um.

The fans really want to see him rise up in front of them and uh and make something happen like he did in the preseason. As difficult as this past offseason was, and it certainly was, you know, not having Jordy Nelson in this offense anymore. You and I mentioned I believe it was even on yesterday's show, what they've been able to do, the talent they've able to cultivate at that position and have gotten those opportunities. As good as Nelson is, as much as I they'll think you

can play in this league. Those guys don't get those opportunities if it isn't you know, for the way that this roster shook out this season, it's unfortunate. Injuries happen. But the fact that you can get reps to Kumero, to mvs Uh to these young receivers, I think is something really is going to behoove them now going into next season. Yeah, well, hurry up, Packers fans because the season is almost over. So make sure you stop in at your local quick trip and pick up your Packers

cup today. Get eighty nine cent refills on your Cafe Cruba coffee all season. Law. Alright, Wes Week seventeen here in the NFL is upon us. There are a handful of games, some really good ones. I'm sure when you and I are back at our desks after Sunday's game working on our stories, we're gonna have, you know, half an eye on the televisions around the building to see what's going on in some of these games. I'm gonna put you on the spot, NFC number six seed. Do

you think the Vikings get it? Or do the Eagles get it? The football fan of me is rooting for the Eagles in this um just because I think it'd be such a great storyline the Vikings. I mean, if they get it, they get it, you know, you know, top notch. I mean that they deserve it. But just the idea of Nick Foles leading the Eagles into the playoffs again, this time, they wouldn't be thirteen and three,

they'd be the sixth seed. But there's just some magic in the football when it seems like he's in the huddle, didn't quite come together earlier this season, but then when he ends up being thrown back in there with Carson Wentz's injury, here he is and he's rolling again. And ultimately, I think if Nick Foles he's he's playing for a starting job right now. He wants to show that when he goes into free agency this year, he can be

that weekend and week out starter for a team. So I I think from a storyline standpoint, if you're rooting just for a reason to watch the games, it's a lot the narratives a lot more intriguing. If the Eagles could find a way to sneak into this thing, Yeah, I think that the Vikings are going to find a

way to beat the Bears at home. I'm not sure the Vikings a week later would be able to go to Chicago and handle that Bears defense in the elements in January and everything, because you talk about a back to back type of thing, like with the Packers and the Vikings in two thousand twelve, when you went from the Metro Dome in week seventeen to lambeau Field for a wild card playoff game, it just becomes a completely

different matchup. But that being said, I will also say this about the Vikings because I made this comment in my Insider inbox. The change was made at quarterback. But aside from that, this is essentially still the team that played for the NFC Championship last year. Teams like that they're in this situation. They're going They're going into their locker room on Sunday, getting suited up, getting ready, saying all we want is a shot. Just give us another shot.

And when a team has that type of approach, if they can get in and with the experience that the bulk of that roster gained last year, with the run that they made almost to the super Bowl, they could be a dangerous team in the NFC if they can get it. The only thing is, though, that I wonder,

is can can Cousins be consistent enough? Absolutely, you absolutely about Keenum last year, even though you know he is is Denver showed this year he has his limitations, but he was just so darn consistent leading up to the NFC champions right. It was like you knew exactly what you were going to get from Keenum every week, and so then the Vikings could build everything around what they were going to do on defense in order to in order to win a game, because Keenum just gave them

something to count on. And I totally agree with you, Cousins, consistency has been an issue and it's why Minnesota season has been so up and down. Yeah, I mean you look at it, though you know more recently, maybe with the exception that Seattle game Miami, he did exactly what he needed to do. He played a picture of perfect performance against Detroit. If you can stitch those together you

get on a run. But the issue there is that, you know, you look at him this year, he has seventeen turnovers on the season, seven fumbles lost, ten interceptions. That's been one of the bugaboos for him this entire career, is that as talent as he is and as much as he's thrown the football and been proven that he is a bona fide starting quarterback in this league, it's those type of things that can really cost you this time of year. So again we'll see this is gonna

be a supreme test. It goes back to what I said two weeks ago with the Packers playing the Bears. Okay, if you want to be a playoff team, you've got to beat this team. The Vikings are in the same boat right now. You want to be a playoff team, you win at your own house, you beat one of the top teams in this conference. Yeah, a couple I want to ask you about. In the a f C. I'll start with the a f C North. You have the Ravens controlling their destiny for the division championship facing

the Browns. If the Ravens were to lose and the Steelers beat the Bengals. Then Pittsburgh wins the a f C North and gets into the playoffs. How do you see that one shake up? It's basically the same exact thing of what the NFC is going through right now with Philadelphia Minnesota vie for that spot. Pittsburgh has kind of been sputtering a little bit down the stretch there, the team that really hasn't had been able to sustain

momentum during December. Whereas you have Baltimore, which feels like a new team right now with Lamar Jackson and the defense a in the way that they're playing. The difficult thing is, though, is that the Steelers are taking on a Bengals team that really has had to win knocked out of their sales, is not going to have Vonte's perfect available, you know. Can they just get the job done, you know, and and win the game and see where the chips fall. It's all on the Ravens right now.

Then the Browns, and the Browns at seven, seven and one are trying to finish above five d. This is this is a playoff game type of thing for the Browns because with where that franchise has been, if they finished this season above five hundred. The the optimism and the anticipation for nineteen with that franchise will be through the roof. Thank you. I mean everyone was asking me about, you know, what are you and play for playoff spots or or play for draft position and things like this.

Tell the Cleveland Browns at the last six weeks haven't mattered. Yeah, I mean, that's a team that is really trying to build something going into next year and be like, all right, we're not only in a position to compete for a playoff spot. They want to run. They want to be the next team to make a Super Bowl with a young quarterback. You know. So yeah, but the problem for it's gonna be an excellent matchup just if you you

have no doubt. I think so too. I think I usually don't get two wrapped up in a f C games because I'm always watching the NFC that much more closely. But if I had a chance to sit and watch an a f C game on Sunday, I'd watch Ravens Brown because you have I mean, it's the two young quarterbacks that have sort of shined out of this draft. Absolutely seeing which team maybe wants a little bit more. The Browns trying to get their first winning season since

two thousand seven with Derek Anderson. I think something like that, or the Ravens, who have always sort of been the heart attack guys at the end of the season. So yeah, it's gonna be an excellent matchup to and whoever gets that spot, whether it be the Ravens or the Steelers, they'll have earned it. Yeah. One other one Sunday night football to run past you. Colts and Titans, a de facto playoff game to end the regular season for the NFL. The winner is into the a f C playoffs, the

loser is done. Who do you like? It has to be the Colts, It has to be Andrew Luck. It sounds like Marcus Mariota is going to be back for the Titans, that they will have their starting quarterback. But that said, I agree with you even on the road. I like Indie in this game. But with all due respect to Marcus Mariotta, my wife doesn't know who that is. So I mean, like you look at it from a

name aspect. You want names in the playoffs. This is Andrew lux game in coming back off the shoulder injury from last year, a guy that led them to so much success his first couple of seasons. If he can re ignite that fire, my goodness. I mean, it doesn't really matter how their season plays out. If they make the playoffs, they're in the same boat as the Cults. They're feeling great about where things are in contrast to where they were sitting last year at four and twelve

without him. So um, yeah, it'd be great. And you know, for the you get to tip your cap to the Titans as well, new coach, new vision, trying to you know, build some of their own success, get to the playoffs again. Yeah. I mean a team, a team that got to the playoffs and one on the road at Kansas City last year and got to the second round. They're looking to get another shot as well. Yeah. So I mean, if

they're able to do it, awesome to them. I just think, you know, you always talk about baseball, right, nobody ever wants the Brewers in the playoffs. They'd rather have, you know, the Cardinals or the Braves, these big markets. You know, Andrew luck is a compelling storyline. But you know, if the Titans can do it, best of luck to them. Yeah, well it should be It should be a great Sunday of football in the NFL for sure, and with that we'll 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 and of Sunday season finale against the Lions on Twitter. He's at West Hot, I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, See you next time.