#473 Packers Unscripted: Back from the bye

I'm laying there, I'm watching television and I'm just like, where has the past week gone? Now that is insider inbox, but the rest of it, and I'm like, it just blew by? And uh, here we are in a week twelve already, How quickly the NFL season goes by? And

unfortunately the bye week even quicker. Yeah, well, we need to discuss what happened been in the NFL while the Packers were not playing, because there were a couple of moments on Sunday, the way things were unfolding, it was looking like Green Bay was going to get some much desired results with the Broncos ahead of the Vikings twenty to nothing at halftime. The Arizona Cardinals were leading the

San Francisco forty Niners sixteen to nothing. In the second quarter, I believe it was before the forty Niners got on the board. Both of those the home teams, the better teams came back and took care of business and got the victories. But but a lot of drama there that

that certainly had an opportunity to go Green Bay's way. Well, the forty Niners game specifically is one we have to talk about because a week ago I was sitting here telling you, you know, they're fundamental, they do everything right, they're good running the football, and then here's this random occurrence where the past heavy aerial offense air raid that Arizona employees, Well, Kyler Murray has a hundred fifty passing yards.

Meanwhile they're running game dominates San Francisco, which I think might have had what forty rushing yards and Jimmy Garoppolo throws for four four. I mean, just again, it seems like it's becoming a recurring theme on the show this year, But like every single week is just a reminder how everything can change. And you got to give the San Francisco forty nine is credit because they came off of a demoralizing situation a week ago. And I said to you before we went on hiatus last week, the Arizona

Cardinals cannot be taken lightly. They played him tough the first time, they played him tough again. But San Francisco, as good teams do, as you said, found a way to get that win in the second half. Yeah, I as I said it insider inbox this morning in the column, I give the San Francisco forty and there's a lot of credit for pulling that out because they were on a short week, having played an overtime game over that went the full overtime the whole ten minutes, a frustrating loss,

their first loss of the season. They had to bounce back. Now. They didn't have travel involved, which helped them because they around this stretch of home games right now. But on a short week, you know a pesky improving division rival in the Arizona Cardinals coming in a team that had already played them tough as you mentioned the first time they met, and the forty niners found uh, they found a way to get it done. And then the Vegas thing kind of all blew up with the last play

of the game. But that's a discussion, discussion for another day. But um, but no, you're right, and and the forty Niners there could be for them. And this is what will be interesting now leading into the game with the Packers this week, because you said it. The forty Niners did not follow they're tried and true formula what they did for the first two months of the season to win this game. They couldn't run the ball. They turned they turned the game over to Garoppolo and uh and

he passed past them. With the statistics, the numbers he put up to a to a big victory to keep them on top of the NFC at nine and on where you have the Packers, the Seahawks, the Saints are all eaten two, and now you have the Vikings at eight and three. Well, this is a great performance by Jimmy Garoppolo for that reason, because I think so many times people are like, Okay, how good is Jimmy Garoppolo,

And he's not without fault. I mean, he's gonna end up turning over the football, you know, passing wise interceptions probably over a dozen times this season is what he's on pace for but yet he finds a way to win. And this was a game where the passing game needed to carry them. Oh and then, by the way, you don't have George Kittle. Emmanuel Sanders plays, but he's dealing with the rib injury, so Deebo Samuel becomes a big part of this offense. Um you see differently, you know,

Kyle use Check. This was a reminder of what that position can do, if you know, in terms of being able to move the chains. In this game, seven catches for sixty three yards. They didn't have Matt Brita as well, So just for them to find a way. That's great for them to be sitting where they are number one seed right now in the NFC playoff chase. But I think this was a reminder for the second straight week, Mike, and again we're gonna be a the you know, go

play this thing out on Sunday night. But forty Niners are not without fault, They're not infallible. The Packers have a realistic chance of going in there. I think they're gonna end up being a couple of point underdogs right now is the way it's looking. But a lot of that is gonna be the home field advantage. Yeah, no

question about it. And certainly there there are some things that have been put on film the last couple of weeks by the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals that that show a little bit of vulnerability with the forty Niners, and that's to be expected. As we talked about, it's a sixteen game season. Yes, the Niners were eight no at the halfway point. They get all the credit in

the world for doing that. But sixteen games is a long season and eventually they're gonna be some some chinks in the armor, you know, some cracks in the foundation and uh, and good teams are going to have an opportunity to take advantage of that. The Seahawks did and got a big victory on the road. The Cardinals almost did, couldn't quite hold on. The forty Inners kept coming back there down sixteen nothing, then they were trailing again in the fourth quarter. They came back a couple of times

in order to get that. I do want to talk also, though about the Minnesota Vikings down twenty to nothing to the Denver Broncos. This was the game I probably watched. I spent more time watching this one than any other um on Sunday. And I'll say this, I'll just repeat what I said in Insider Inbox. When the Broncos blew the chance at the end of the first half to add to the twenty to nothing lead, when Brandon and Allen tried to force a pass, you know, to the

goal line over the middle, it got picked off. They were easily going to add another field goal and at least get to twenty three to nothing, and that didn't happen. And then when when Denver's defense, which had played such great football in the first stef just allowed the Vikings to march right down the field and score to open the second half, it just felt to me like the outcome was inevitable that Minnesota was going to come back and win this game, and they did. Well. Here's the thing.

I'm sure there's a lot of Minnesota Vikings fans that watch a show called Packers Unscripted, but my message to all of them would be, this is why you need to at least appreciate Kirk Cousins and why they made the investment that they did. I get it. He's not the second coming of Joe Montana. Nobody really is right, But they were chasing a solution at quarterback. They wanted a firm foundation at quarterback like they're not. Kirk Cousins gives you that in the league where it's very difficult

to establish and find those players. For Kirk Cousins to have the performance he did against a Vic Fangio defense that had a lot of success against Dalvin Cook in the run and was able to, you know, do a lot of things schematically to challenge them in the first half. For them to battle back from that shows you why the Minnesota Vikings are still contenders and as you and I've been discussing for the last few weeks, why they've been able to sort of rise from the ashes to

make this type of run that they're at. Conversely, Denver Broncos have a lot of problems right now. That was just that was just a defensive meltdown in the second half.

I mean, for them to pitch that first half shutout yardage wise, they're ranked fourth in the league with that defense coming into the game, and then in the second half, with a with a three score lead, four possessions, four touchdowns by the Minnesota Vikings, the Broncos could not get a stop to save their lives when really one stop might have been all they needed in the second half

to win that game. Yeah. And the thing I really didn't like, to be honest with you after the game, vic Fangio saying his big quote, I think it's leading off NFL dot Com right now is will eventually get it done. That's not going to cut it. Yeah, you need to get it done. I could say I'm I'm four and seven right now in my fantasy football league. I can stay there every Tuesday morning and say, hey, I'm gonna eventually get it done. The results are what

they are. You can point towards the quarterback situation, but that's been a thing for a few years now for the Broncos. You can point towards the running game, but you know, you haven't really been able to find and recreate the magic that they had last year. Your bread and butter has to be the defense, and they put themselves in a position to win that game early, and they fell apart late. And that's why you're sitting where you are right now in Week twelve. Yeah, I mean

it's you know, give the Vikings credit. They certainly storm back from what was looking like a true clunker of a performance. And and it was happening at home the fans at US Bank Stadium or obvious letting them hear it, you know, walking off the field at twenty to nothing. Um. And it's as I mentioned, it should have been worse than twenty to nothing because after the fumble on the kickoff, the Broncos were in position to add even more points

before halftime, and they blew that opportunity. Um. Did you see the end of the game, the final sequence by the by the goal line. Um. Again, a discussion for another day with regards to the whole past interference rule, But all three of those plays there were some interesting things going on. I think the one that stands out the most to people is the receiver getting his face

mask grabbed as the ball is coming. Which Gene Sterator, the rules expert and former NFL official who was um, you know, doing the usual broadcasting on Sunday, he actually put out there on Twitter that hey, like, face mask is not a reviewable penalty, but because the ball was in the air, you could construe that as past interference with the guy grabbing the face mask. They didn't even stop the game to take a look at it. You know nothing like that, and uh and the Vikings escape

with the victory. It's almost kind of like an ignorance bless a little bit because those plays happen now and I'm not even disappointed, not even I don't even think twice about it now. The first couple of weeks of this season, it's like, come on, what are you thinking? But when you start to understand, it's just like you

know your your regular standard recess basketball game. When you start to understand the rules of how we're gonna play this thing, you're no longer disappointed when a certain thing doesn't go all the way. I again, a discussion for another day. As long and as drawn out as that process was last year, trying to figure out how they're gonna change your fish any rules, they're gonna have to

sit in that room twice as long this offseason. And my hope is and I called it last year, Mike, not Barry horror with saying myself here, but I called it last year. You saw all these things mounting leading up to the NFC Championship game. There was call after call, and it's like, that's not just going to magically stop. There's going to be a critical moment one of these playoff games where they're going to have to make a decision. In that decision is really going to have some big implications.

It's they don't disappear, they only compound, and that's something that Lead's gonna have to deal with. Yeah, I mean, it certainly feels like this year is headed that way as far as the postseason as well, with with whether these p I reviews, I mean the streak and I know, I guess there were a couple of p I reviews

yesterday that actually got changed. But when you look at the fact that the one in the Minnesota game wasn't even really looked at the one in the Houston Baltimore game that was that was challenged and the call on the field was not overturned. This this is this is headed for another potential postseason disaster. That is that is going to knock somebody out of the playoffs in potentially a very unjust manner and uh, figure out the owners meetings. Yeah,

I guess, I guess. So, Well, what is interesting those the Packers were benefits of that that uh you know, screen type call. I think that was against the Bears game right where it ended up being the receiver pickplay that was Minnesota. I thought that was going to set a precedent for the season. It didn't know and that that it Actually I think what that did be because because that was essentially an offensive past interference flag that was dropped from New York so to speak, when they

looked at the touchdown play. I think that's the play that changed everything because there there started to be a message that was sent like, hey, that's not what this rule was put in for is to to be looking

at touchdowns and then dropping flags from New York. So then the whole thing has gone the other way to where the percentages of the calls that are being upheld on the field regardless of what the replay looks like on these p I reviews and coaches who are still trying to challenge things even though it's feudal because they're not going to get the call to go their way.

I think that. I think the call at lambeau Field in Week two on that offensive past interference against the Vikings, I think that's the one that changed everything because it was really weird. I remember just being kind of flabber gas that sitting in my seat that they actually it was the right call, more vantage point, but it was it was stunt. It was stunning that that that basically New York took a touchdown away on a score play.

It was automatically reviewed and they said, oh, there's offensive past interference right there, that's no touchdown, and uh it costs the Vikings four points because they ended up kicking a field goal on that drive. So it's fascinating the way that these things get interpreted. Again, I wrote it an Insider in box last week. I don't want to be an NFL official. I have no interest in doing it, but man, the way that this game is right now, I mean, it's it's one thing to not want to

do the job. I don't want to be a high school basketball rep. But it's another thing for the way that's being interpreted. It's there is an element of kind of I don't want to get all into it, but it's almost a superiority. It's it's come off as well. You you know, you know my take, which is that I think we've reached the point, and again, discussion for another day, we've reached the point where the call on

the field can't matter anymore. They just have if something goes to replay, you look at the replay and you call what you see and to heck with whatever the call is on the field. But nobody, nobody seems to really want to go in that direction, even though I think the technology dictates that the hall in the field really just shouldn't carry the weight that it carries in. And that's a quincidental kind of aspect of this is that originally the whole thing was the league office is

going to make the call. The referees, they'll be on the headset, they'll be there to give their input, but that it really doesn't And ultimately that's what it came down. Yeah, the call and the call in the field is still carrying the day. We gotta get to your Darren College store because I want to discuss that. But before we get to that Thursday night football, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about it, the whole fiasco with my goodness, Do you have a quick take on that

at all, because I have several, but I'm curious. My my quick take is I can't believe all the people who are screaming for Mason Rudolph to get suspended out of this thing. Now, Look, if Mason Rudolph gets a fine, I'm totally cool that he overreacted to the situation. But if if Myles Garrett, even if Myles Garrett yanks the helmet off and just drops it and throws it aside, nobody's talking about suspensions here for anybody at all. Miles Garrett is the one who escalate aided this thing to

the level that it is. He and then and and I don't disagree with the suspension for Marquise Pouncy because you start throwing punches, you're gonna get suspended. And I think he escalated from a one game suspension to a three game suspension with the kicking when Garrett was on the ground. So I think, from what I've heard so far, I think this has been adjudicated properly by the NFL. But man, I have never just going back to the incident itself, I have never seen anything quite so barbaric

on an NFL. And it's two thousand nineteen and I wrote about this an inbox. You edited it last week with everything we know about head and neck. In goodness, this is unacceptable because someone mentioned, you know the whole thing, you know, you go back to the you know, Jim McMann incident with the Packers back in the late eighties. Agree, justus terrible. It was a different time. Unfortunately, those things happen, but it wasn't a nitty or grittier and in some

cases dumber way to play the game. We understand what we're dealing with now. I mean in terms of the gravity of some of these things. To be chucking a helmet like that, if you hit him on the temple, if that thing hits him with the crown of the helmet, we're talking about significant implications beyond the game. You're talking about possibly a fractured skull. So you and I have held NFL helmets. I don't know how many viewers have.

But I mean the way that these things have been developed now and the way I mean these aren't they're not throwing around the you know, no, the ones, the ones that we got under the Christmas trees and we were kids, those those have about twenty of the mass and weight of an actual NFL helmet. I mean, these things are these things are dangerous when they're getting swung around like that. And uh and and to see that, I mean, you know, I know, Myles Garrett is going

to appeal his suspension. I think this is really interesting issue as far as how much does the union stand behind a guy when one of its members just flat out assaulted and attacked and another another union member with with a weapon like a helmet. I mean, this is this is to me is unprecedented at least in my lifetime. In following the NFL, I expect the union in the PA to to do that is their job is to protect Myles Garrett, that you know, and defend him. That

they are the defense attorney in that way. I do appreciate though that were now a couple of days removed this, that they didn't just come out and like Levy down on the NFL for the suspensions. Whatever has to happen the a Pillies process and that will be up to Derrick Brooks and in James Thrash. But that that I thought sent an important message that this is the Demerius Randall thing. I thought that was an egregious hit, unnecessary.

It was in the realm of football play, yes, absolutely, but but that's what that's that's the that's the football play they're trying to legislate out of the game. They put in the remedies. Now when they see it, they're gonna they're gonna kick a guy out and and that's that's where things are headed. But yes, it was it was a football play. It was done wrongly and and

uh and the punishment was properly. And the one thing I will say that people are they're wanting punishment for Rudolph that I I really like that the NFL stepped in. They find both organizations, because to be honest with you, it's just unacceptable on so many counts. There's eight seconds left in the game. Whether or not Myles Garrett took down Rudolph when he shouldn't have, I think that's what escalated for Rudolf. That's what that's what that's what started

it for the quarterback. And then, as I say, he overreacted, then the other guy overreacted, and then the benches get bees. Yeah, there's no there's there's no place for that. There's no place for that, there's no need for that. And uh and yeah, I mean it's it's just a it's an ugly it's an ugly black mark on a league that was that that has been trying with a lot of safety rules and everything else to clean up the game. And uh, and this one, this one sent the league

back a few steps. And last thing, and I really want to discuss college. It was a great story. This is why you want to talk about wins and losses, beyond suspensions, beyond finds, all these things. Look at why the New England Patriots just one their nineteenth straight winning season, like they just clean Belichick, The Patriots, the teams that do it right, play disciplined football. They do it in

quarter one, they do it in quarter four. And I just think when you look at where Cleveland seasons at right now and how things are going, that's the difference. You want to win football games. Play disciplined, don't do agregious stuff. Best be fundamental. Yeah is what it is. I went, like I said on Twitter after the game, I wish I wouldn't even watched it. Yeah, there's there's a part of me that wishes I hadn't seen it live. Either. But um, that being said, we did want to talk

a little bit about that. It is November, it is Salute to Service month in the NFL. You and I have both been have worked on a couple of stories. You had the piece on Danny vitally earlier. I had one that posted last week, um during the bye on Darren College. For those who remember him, he was a second round draft pick for the Packers in two thousand six. He played five years in Green Bay, was a starter that entire time, was a starting guard on the Super

Bowl forty five championship team. And he is now in the Idaho National Guard. And earlier this year he returned from a ten month deployment to Afghanistan. Uh some married man, father of two young girls to uh elementary school age girls, and uh, you know it was it was really really neat to catch up with him. He's one of the guys that his five years in Green Bay. Two thousand and six was the year I got to the Packers and Packers dot com. He was part of that first

rookie class that came in. I really enjoyed getting know him over the five years that he played here. I even actually bumped into him when he finished his final year in the NFL. He was with the Miami Dolphins and the Packers had beaten the Dolphins down in Miami on that last second fake spike, you know, whole sequence, and um, I actually crossed paths with him as he was coming off the field and I was making my way down towards the Packer locker room for postgame interviews.

And he's the kind of guy like he sees me, he stops and says hello, it's just really quickly like, hey, good to see you know, take it easy. That was the last time I had seen him until he came back and I talked to him about this, uh, this deployment to Afghanistan, and uh, boy, you talk about somebody who who is really dedicated to the service element of a post football career. Um, it's it's really remarkable what he's doing. I think it takes a special breed of

person to to do what Darren College is doing. And uh and you know, to go over to Afghanistan and to be in some of those danger zones. I you know, I certainly pray for him, just as I do for for all the servicemen and women over there. But as you know, when it's somebody that you know and you start to think about those kinds of things, that it feels a little different. Well, and it's incredible. It's an

incredible story. I really encourage you to check it out on Packers Dot com still up there now called a duty uh and Darren College journey. The one quote though, and I when I tweeted your story out, this is the quote I pulled. It was from Jason Spitz, who has been a longtime friend of College. They obviously operate the winery together. Yeah, they they were. They were in the same draft class back to background, second and third round in two thousand and six. They were great friends

from the day they arrived in Green Bay. And it was amazing to read that quote when it's like, you know so many you know, he just gets done with a nine year tenure NFL career and then here he is jumping into this and and there's a certain aspect from spitz perspective, I mean, are you just are you crazy?

Like what are you doing? But then when you understand him and you understand what motivates him and where he comes from, and you know, one thing I learned from the story, I didn't realize that North Pole, Alaska was actually a big military area. Um, yeah, there's a lot. There's there's various military bases up there in Alaska. And he grew up kind of surrounded by that. He had a both a great grandfather, and a grandfather who served in the military. Um. And his his brother is also

currently in the military, is involved in some in special forces. Um. So uh, yeah, he got done. He got done with a nine year NFL career. Certainly has plenty of money to set up, you know, his family, generations of his family for a long time to come. And uh and was having a conversation with Jason Spitz and some other friends and feeling like he just he was wasting his life. He needed to needed to do something. And he's, uh, he's slimmed down about fifty pounds, he's about a three

pound offensive guard. He weighs about to sixty now just looks you know, he's he's in great shape. And uh. Um, personality wise, he's just he's he's still the same guy. He's he's a he's a fast talker who will strike up a conversation with anybody. And uh and just a really a really really neat guy. And uh and I hope that you know, those who want to reminisce a little bit and get to know what he's doing now that he has been out of football for five years. Um,

you know, check out the story. I really did enjoy the conversation with Yeah, and like I said, it's a phenomenal tale. It's incredible to hear what his motivations are, what that experience was like for him, and just where where he's at right now in his life. But certainly, you know, the slip to service month number of members of the military. I know my grandfather served an incredible opportunity to it. To really recognize and appreciate the men and women that that put so much on the line

for that for you know, our country. And then to see a guy like Darren College who when you say like he felt like he wasn't he could literally sit on a couch the rest of his life and be fine and be set and nobody and nobody would question it when he when he you know, put his body through what football players have to put their bodies through to play this game for nine years, and and I forget what his total number of games was, but he

he didn't basically didn't miss a game in Green Bay. Um. He uh, he started eight plus games over the course of his five years, including playoffs, and just just a durable, you know, the the warrior football mentality type. And he's he's sort of taken that that same mentality into his

post football career. What a saint his wife is to going through an NFL career where you know, he's gone as much as he is, you're dedicated to the cause as much he is, and then to turn around and decide he wants to do something like that that includes that type of deployment. His white his wife, Megan, as I said, two young daughters. They were five and seven when he left to go to Afghanistan. Then they both turned six and eight by the time he came back.

And his wife, Megan is he called her a military bratch. She grew up in a military family that moved around and and so you know, she was familiar with the deal. And as he said, I couldn't do it without her, but she knew everything that was involved when I signed up for it. And uh um, just my head, My hat's off to the guy, and uh um, I really did appreciate getting to catch up with him. Yeah, and if you definitely get a chance to check that out,

Packers dot com still up there now? Really nice read? All right, with that, we will call it a wrap on this edition of Packers on Scripted. We sure to follow all of our coverage of the team on Packers dot com. 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.