#490 Packers Unscripted: Difference-makers

means keys to victory. So as the Packers search for win number eleven, trying to get to eleven and three before they hit the road for the final two regular season games of the year, what's it going to take in this one consistency? And that's one of the things we heard this week from Aaron Rodgers and Matt Lafleur.

I think it isn't just a comfortable cliche though. It's something I think there's a lot of truth too, because if you look at the way that this offense, defense, and special teams have performed throughout the year, if you could put together all their top performances, they could compete with any team in the league. But it's about, Okay, what are you gonna get out of those three phases

in any given week? And who's going to be the one that kind of rises above, because that's been the kind of the when their ten victories, one particular phase always seems to stand out. And I just think that when you hear guys talk about this in the locker room, we haven't played our best game yet, we haven't played a four quarter game yet. There is truth to that. Now. Don't get me wrong. It's been enough to be ten and three, and there's you know, twenty some teams in

this league right now. They would do anything to have ten victories at this juncture the season. But it's what Matt Fleur keeps saying in terms of what's still out there for them. They feel like there's still things that they can accomplish. And when I look at this offense in particular, just the offense with Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones, Davante Adams, Alan Lazard, all these other pieces that we've talked about, they've all shined independently in different games and

different scenarios. Can you get them all on the same age together, whether it's this week or Minnesota Detroit. I just think that's critical for them trying to mount the playoff push here to finally you know see what that looks like when you can get everything clicking on all cylinders. Yeah, I think you and I both agree that this Packers

team has not played its best game yet. I think both of us believe, as Matt lafleuris continue to say, as Aaron Rodgers has also said, there is another level out there for this team, but there's no guarantee you're going to get there. You still you still have to find it. You have to push your level of play there, and then you have to try to maintain yourself at that at that level of play for as long as possible.

And I agree with you. I think whether it's whether it's this Sunday against the Bears, whether it's next week on Monday Night against Minnesota, I think the Packers need to find that level and uh then that will set themselves up potentially to make a run in January here as far as this Bears team is concerned, I think the Packers have to be ready for you know what, do you call it the punch in the mouth of the haymaker. I mean this Bears team, they are they

are fired up. They were taking a lot of hits from all directions. The midpoint of the season, they had dropped to I believe it was three and five. At the midway point, they were three and five after eight games. Everybody was They've won four their last five now, including three in a row. They're coming in here with as we talked about way back at the beginning of the week, their season is on the line. They are going to

absolutely pull up, pull out all the stops. They're coming off of back to back Thursday games, so they've had a little bit of extra rest since their big Thursday night victory at home last week against Dallas. I think the Packers really the Packers have to be ready for a team. I know it's a cliche to say you're going to get their best shot. The Packers really are going to get the Bears best shot on Sunday. There's no doubt in my mind about that. I've always had

a lot of for Matt Nage. I think he's a brilliant offensive mind. I think what he was able to accomplish in Kansas sitting and then come into Chicago, it goes without saying at this point that he's a good football coach. I think what we learned this year about him is he's a good leader and for them to be able to pull out of this. There's Chicago Bears teams, I can tell you, and this isn't an indictment on any particular coach, but where there were years where if

they fall three and five, the unravelings begun. And that's what they were hearing from the outside. That is like, oh, the Bears with Matt Nagge, there are a one year wonder. They went twelve and four, they got knocked out of the playoffs and that's it, you know, And it's like, do they need to find another quarterback instead of Trabisky. All of that was going on in Chicago and all of a sudden they're seven and six and they're fighting

for everything they can get. And make no mistake, the Green Bay Packers need to win this game on Sunday. They need to take care of what they need to take care of. They have ten wins, the Bears have seven. And the Bears, even though they've called themselves back, it hasn't been against premier NFL talent and all that considered. Why I bring this all up is, let's just say

the Packers do take care of business. It is still in Horton for the Bears to finish strong here, because I don't think you're gonna see a dissimilation of just this entire you know, organization. They still want to be within that reach of the playoffs to give themselves some confidence, to give themselves some belief that, Okay, two thousand twenty, we can still stay on this trajectory. Mitchell Rubinsky can be our guy in our defense. Is going to be

the group that we think it is. The Packers need to kind of ease them into that next season. That's their goal. I mean, Aaron Jones even talked about it. He didn't really realize this. To be honest with you, I didn't realize this. The Chicago Bears and almost an exact same scenario last year, effectively shut the door on the Packers playoff hopes with that victory late in the season.

Now Green Bay wants to do the same. Yeah. From an x IS and O standpoint here, I mean, I think you and I are definitely on the same page as far as this goes. I think defensively for the Packers, this game comes down to how you defend Mitchell Trubisky. And what I mean by that is whether he's doing the read option runs with David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen, or whether he's scrambling out of the pocket trying to make plays with his legs. Those are the kinds of

things the Packers have to be. Matt Lafleur used the word discipline several times at the podium this week. It's disciplined with that read option so that you don't just sell out to stop the running back, because Trubisky can tuck the ball and run. It's discipline with your pass rush lanes so that when he when he drops back to pass, you're not giving him these easy escape routes to be able to to get to the marker and move the chains on a third and seven, for example.

Those are the kinds of things if if the Packers, if the Packers can contain Mitchell Rubinsky and not let him dictate things with his legs, which is what which is really what he did against Chicago, I'm sorry, in Chicago against Dallas last week, I think that's uh. That to me, that's the whole key to this game and keeping the Bears down. He had excuse me, two yards passing on attempts and the opener was sacked five times. The Packers kept a barrage of pressure in his face,

and the edge resher has kept their integrity. That's going to be critical. The other thing I think is gonna be critical in this equation is David Montgomery, because well, Montgomery hasn't had maybe that two yard game where okay, all the Yahoo Fantasy and ESPN everyone's like talking about this guy. He's a star now and people start to want to put him on their roster and make sure he's a top five talent, and then everybody knows who

David Montgomery has. He hasn't had that type of game yet, but he is their best option in the backfield now. Terrik Cohen a nice gap back, but David Montgomery, the reason they drafted him last year was to be that number one guy. This guys two pounds at five tens. He's got a lot of power in that in that body. He's a pistol. And for all the things that happened in that opening, we can talk about Trabisky, we can talk about the low scoring game. I thought the number

one mistake the Bears did. And this is no disrespect to Mike Davis. I have a lot of respect for how he able, he was able to claw himself back and make a career out of this thing for himself. But they pulled the band aid half off this offseason. They either got to go all the way or you

gotta keep it on. And what I mean by that is they got rid of Jordan Howard and then they signed Davis to a two year deal, who, for the most part, is a very similar type back if you're going to usher in the David Montgomery era for a running back usher in the David Montgomery era, he didn't get nearly enough touches in that opener, and we're seeing it now. Yeah, and Davis really wasn't able to get anything going, and they weren't able to run the ball.

We can talk forever about all the things that went wrong with Trabinsky in that game. He didn't have a chance to get the run game going at all. And it doesn't matter if it's the Packers defense, it doesn't matter who you're playing. If you are one dimensional with a third year quarterback that has certain limitations, it's gonna be a long day at the office. I I just think that not only containing Trabinsky but also making sure that you hold Montgomery and check because this time he's

going to get the touches, Mike. It's not going to be like the opener where he got six or seven carries and then a couple of catches. I mean, there's gonna be touch guy, Yeah, no question about it. You look at last week, Trabinsky had sixty plus rushing yards against the Cowboys. That was by far his biggest total of nineteen and actually his second largest rushing total of

his career. So that's the sign that he's getting back to being that running and scrambling mits true biscuit that we saw the first couple of years of his career. And with regard to Montgomery, eighty six rushing yards last week against Dallas, that's that's his second highest total of his rookie season. He has one one yard game. He had a hundred and thirty five yards I believe it

wasn't in one game this season. But the twenty carries for eighty six yards in the last game against the Cowboys, that's what I think the Packers are going to see on Sunday. He is going to be the bell cow. He's going to be the number one running back and that read option stuff you know, uh, you know, the the whole mesh point thing and is true bisky gonna

hand it or pull it all that? I think. I think that's where this Bears offense is starting to kind of just get more comfortable with itself because Montgomery is settling into being that number one back here at the tail end of his rookie season, and Matt said all the right things about Dallas d defense and what he thought about him. I'm gonna tell you right now, for me, Cowboys defense has been a letdown this season. I thought how they defended the read option was very uninspired in

that game. For how much speed they have right at the inside linebacker position, there were there were just assignments being ignored. You could see it on the film. So that's where I think for the Packers, it's going to be being disciplined. It's going to be making sure that you are holding your gaps and in playing with integrity. But the other thing is too, As you mentioned, I mean, you have to have the read to be able to

have the option. And that's why the Montgomery and Trabinsky partnership I think has worked out so well, especially this year where he hasn't really had Trabinsky hasn't had all of his trusted weapons that that maybe he developed his last season. So again, I just I look at Strabinsky. I look at being able to pressure him, but being able to keep him in the pocket, not allowing him to screep, you know, kind of streak out into space.

And in terms of Montgomery, making sure that you keep a hat on him for four quarters because if you don't, they're going to be able to move the chance. Yeah, well, I'm gonna throw a stat at you, and then um after that, in an unreal aid matter, I'm going to ask you a question. Here's something I found wes first quarters of games this year. The Packers have outscored their opponents six Okay, that's better than a two to one ratio.

We've talked about how how much getting off to a fast starting games has been a big part of the formula for the Packers getting to double digit wins. But listen to this. In the third quarter, the Chicago Bears have outscored their opponents to thirty, more than a three to one ratio. So whereas the Packers come out of the locker room at the beginning of the game trying to make their statement, you know, and set the pace.

The Bears come out of the locker room at halftime and they're gonna throw some punches there that that that's when they have taken control of the games that they have won. So I think that's something to keep in mind as we go into Sunday looking at the beginning of the first half and the beginning of the second half.

The question I want to ask you, though we all know about Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams and Aaron Jones and everything he means, we've seen so many different guy us throughout the course of this season for the Packers be that complementary piece on offense in a given game to help put this team over the top and get the points that are needed for a victory. Is there somebody in that perimeter skill position group that you think might

be that complimentary piece on Sunday? It's Robert Tanyan. Is the guy I looked towards right now because I thought we saw him look like himself again last week. You know, he missed five games with that hip injury that he was dealing with and wasn't able really quite able to get past it and finally just had the bye week, and you know, I was able to rest it up

and got back last week. I thought it showed you the dimension he adds when when he's right, and being able to get that twelve year touchdown pass I thought was critical. He is the kind of in between of all these different tight end personnel because, as Matt Lafleur said, going back to the NFL owners meetings in March, they want to be a tight end team. That's a package

that he likes to live in. It's a package. A lot of those teams running that Shanahan West Coast Varia, you know version um, they like to use very ants with the word I was trying to go for their I just think that Tanyan is the guy that not only can play in line, but he can give you some snaps. Is this is a you know, spread guy as well. He just fits the mold for what the

Packers want to do. And I'm not saying he needs to play more than Jimmy Graham or Marcedes Lewis, but I just think that you're seeing how he can be useful in the fact that Aaron Rodgers does have that trust in him and for a young guy a second year player that was an undrafted free agent. This just screams to me like the type of game where they could make some hay in the middle of the field and Tanny and I think could be a really good

conduit to accomplishing that. Yeah, I could definitely see that. I think that's a good calling with with the Bears dealing with replacing role Kwan Smith in the middle of the field and all that as well. If I were to pick a complimentary piece for this game, I think I have to go with Jamal Williams. And I mentioned him as kind of, you know, my guy player to watch in our final Thoughts video because you know, you're talking about highs in the teens on Sunday, it's going

to be cold. Having that that power running back for the short yardage, for the goal line stuff, I think Jamal Williams could play a pretty big role in this game on Sunday. And looking at his statistics on the season, he was he was on a streak middle portion of the season. He caught a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers in four consecutive games. He still leads the Packers overall this season with five touchdown catches, which is really unusual that you get this late in a season at a

running back is is your top guy there? But since that streak of four straight games with a touchdown catch, he hasn't had any. He's gone four games now without a touchdown catch. And I just wonder if you know, in in the red zone, the goal to go situation, if maybe that's something that the Packers pull back out and uh and Jamal Williams starts finding the end zone again,

agree with you, and it would be. I think when you see Jamal, especially in the red area, how effective he can be as both a runner and a pass catcher. Those are things I definitely look for this game in particular, I really am looking for Aaron Jones though, And and why I say that is if you go back over the last two and a half year playing the Chicago

Bears has not been kind to Aaron Jones. There have been injuries, there are times where he just you know, like the the opener he only had thirteen carries for thirty nine yards. I just feel like these next two weeks, man, if you want to make a real statement, I don't

care what the scoreboard looks like. I don't care what even the result is, But if you want to make a statement that says this team is a team to be messed within the playoffs, if you can get Aaron Jones to really break out hundred and twenty total yards, hundred and thirty total yards and to do it against the defense the caliber of Chicago and or Minnesota, that makes a statement. Here we talked about the consistency side of it. Now, all that being said is Aaron Jones

doesn't need thirty touches to do that. We've seen it. He can do that in fifteen to twenty touch is fine. There's still room there for Jamal Williams. And every single time someone asks about Aaron Jones, Matt Lafleur is quick to mention Jamal Williams is a big part of this too, because what makes them so great together. It's not just their chemistry, it's not just their friendship that makes us all work together. It's the fact that, despite being entirely

different running backs, they both fit the scheme well. Uh. They both can run the inside zone concepts and they can succeed in their own ways. The yards are there. I think people sometimes forget if something would happen and you do not want this by any means for Aaron Jones, but let's say he ends up being knocked out for a season in Week two. Jamal Williams is a guy that could easily be a thousand yard back in this league.

He has the durability for it. He's a guy that I think it could be a mutter that late in the season can really ramp things up. That hasn't been his role and he hasn't complained about that at all in Green Bay. But make no mistake, there's a lot of times I keep drawing these comparisons to Edgar Bennett. I really feel like this is a guy that could be in every down back if you need him to be. And sometimes people forget that Aaron Jones is flashy, he's

really fun. You can do different things with him, and he's rounded out his game as a pass catcher and a pass protector. But Jamal Williams is a big part of this too. So the original point, it would not surprise me at all of a guy like him actually came out and balled out on Sunday. Yeah, Well, looking at what else is going on in Week fifteen around the NFL. Obviously a lot of games impacting where the

Packers stand and where they can potentially go. Just to lay out a couple of different scenarios, one is the Packers can clinch a playoff spot this week if they get a victory, and if the Cowboys can beat the Rams. A Packers win in a Rams loss would assure green may have a playoff spot no matter what would happen over the final two weeks. As far as the NFC North is concerned, the Packers can win this division one

of two ways. You can either beat the Bears this week and the Lions in week seventeen, or you can beat the Vikings in week sixteen. If you do it either way, you will win the NFC North. Now, obviously you can't play the Vikings this week, so you might as well beat the Bears, and if you do that, you give yourself essentially the option of winning one of the last two in order to win the division. So

that's where the Packers sit. And with regard to potential seating in the playoffs, we all know Green Bay controls the situation for potentially getting one of those first round by is getting a top two seed. If the Packers win their final three games, they will have a week off in the postseason in January. So the first one amidst all that mix that affects the Packers is Cowboys hosting the Rams. In terms of the immediate trying to clinch a playoff spot. What do you think here? What

I think? Moving forward? I'm gonna just start referring to you as Mike the playoffs situation. I think that's gonna be my nickname for you. I enjoy, I enjoy, So I enjoy wrapping my brain around at all. Yeah, it's awesome. I'm glad you do, because my i Q wasn't high enough to be able to figure all this stuff out. Okay, So here's the way I've always looked at this, Right, You shop for groceries every once in a while. Yeah,

I did this morning, so I came to work. So are you the guy that puts together your list before you go or you the guy that just kind of keeps it in the back of your mind and just feels I gotta have a list. And so I'm the feeling out guy. I've never had a list for shopping with you. You'd take too long. I probably would. So anyway, So I go through the grocery store, and I pick up what I need. Maybe you gonna impulse by here there, you know, hey, let's have some fun, get crazy at

age thirty two. Uh. But this is the way I also look at playoffs scenarios. Right, because you can make your list, that's fine. The way I look at it is that every single week, it's picking up an apple, it's picking up your carrots, it's picking up your salad, it's picking up your cereal, your milk, you're yogurt, whatever.

If you can do that for three more weeks, here you get a by Man and and I keep reiterating this over and over and over, but I remember sitting in Man, was it I gotta actually remember how I did this. Was it the Georgia Dome or was it Mercedes Ben's At that point in sixteen when they lost,

it was still Georgia, still Georgia. I remember sitting there in that news in the press conference after with Rogers and and I keep bringing this up, but he kept talking about we have to play these games in Green Bay. I've I've I've had I've played that sound bite in my mind from losing the Packers losing that NFC Championship game in Atlanta and Rogers just said, you know, these are the kind of games we have to play at Lambo. That's that's what's going to get this team to the

next age. And for the first time, Mike since what two thousand fourteen, the Green Bay Packers are in a position right now. They don't need the San Francisco forty Niners to lose three straight. They don't need the Saints to lose two out of three. They don't need Minnesota to go on a slide here, they don't need Detroit to fall apart. To win a division, they need to win three games. Yeah, they're in command of their own situation. So yeah, you win Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago, any of those

variations those permutations. But if you keep winning, you win on Sunday, you find a way to win a US Bank, you take your business against Detroit, well, suddenly remember the whole run the table thing in sixteen. You've got a

comparable streak now going into the playoffs. That's why I think these are so valuable, and that's why I really do truly respect what Matt la Floor says when he says, just want to know, win this game in front of you, Because if you get the reset button every week, because because we it's a week to week league, everything starts

over every Monday. And the point I want to make is, no matter what's on that list, no matter what you aut about going into that store, if your cart is full as you go to that register, the groceries are in the best right there. I mean, you have collected what you need to collect going in the playoffs. And I think, Mike, this team really could stay healthier these

last couple of weeks. What a benefit it would be to them then to be able to have a buy and be able to actually bring this thing back to Lambele Field in January, which is a special place to play postseason football. Yeah, no doubt about it. That would that would be special if the Packers can get back to that. Rams are at the Cowboys, the Vikings are at the Chargers, a second West coast trip in three weeks from Minnesota. So obviously Packers Charger well have Yeah

they did. They wrecked up what was at forty? I think it was with anybody? So um, yeah, the Chargers are definitely not mailing in any even though they're not really in the playoff hunt. Other games I'm sure Packers fans will have their eye on the Seattle Seahawks travel to Carolina, so you keep an eye on what Seattle is doing. The San Francisco forty Niners are at home

against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons like the most up and down, maybe the most unpredictable team in the entire NFC this year, but um, that's a game that Packers fans will have their eye on as well. And then the New Orleans Saints. Um, I believe that's on Monday Night. New Orleans is hosting the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts who

are suddenly fighting for their playoff lives. When a couple of weeks ago they looked like they were in great shape, and now the Colts have to go into the super Dome. Who's the executive like sitting in the room? Like weekft, let's go Colts Saints on Monday Night football. We'll get this. Next week, the Saints are playing the Tennessee Titans. The Saints are playing two a f C games AFC opponents

back to back in weeks fifteen and sixteen. I don't know how anybody comes up with that schedule, but but yeah, that's that's where the SATs. The Steaks don't get any higher. I mean, well, I mean, the Colts were a playoff team last year. Nobody saw a retirement coming. I know,

but I mean I can, I can. All I'm saying is I can see back in the spring where people would say, oh, the Colts and the Saints, like late in the year, that actually looks like it could be an intriguing matchup, And right now it doesn't because because the Colts are really stumbling and the Saints are already a division champ. Yeah, I just think it's funny. It's

just a f C versus NFC. I'm gonna but whatever money I football schedule never makes any sense anyway, Uh, Rams and Cowboys, this is this is the game for the Cowboys. If you have any chance of winning this division, you have to win this game, because if you lose to the Rams and go six and eight against Philadelphia next week, good luck. I mean, I don't care how beat up the Eagles are at this point, but if you're if you, I mean, there is something to having

a semblance of momentum during a playoff. I mean, you've got to be able to win this at least Convince yourself that you're a playoff team. Do you think the Cowboys win that game at home? Man, the Rams are playing pretty good. I think the Rams and the Cowboys are probably one of these It seems to me, And I don't have stats to back to. Something seems to me the Cowboys are one of the worst home teams

in the NFL right now. Yeah, they haven't kind of haven't flipped the coin where they haven't played well at home. The one thing I will say, I do think the Rams are playing really well. I think they're tough out right now. But if the Cowboys are going to regroup at all, it's the same thing the Bears are doing. Coming off of the back to back Thursday games. The Cowboys ended up losing both. They lost on Thanksgiving, then they lost last Thursday against Chicago. At least they've had

a little bit of extra time to regroup. If they're going to find something, it's got to be this week against the Rams. And if they do, that's something that could help the Packers. Yeah, and and I really do I think the Charges are gonna be an interesting matchup there. If I think yeah, well, I know we'll be scoreboard watching that one as we're putting together all our postgame

content after Sunday's game. And to close on this one, the game that you're probably only your grandfather's talking about, Tampa Bay going to Detroit. Uh, I just want to mention this. Bruce Aaron's team is playing pretty well right now. They seem to be kind of not having as many turnovers. Now.

The reason you want the Buccaneers to win this is, I think you want to get that Week seventeen game against Alliance down to We just want to end the season like Detroit has just there's nothing there's no reason to put Stafford back, Oh, there's nothing else in a victory for the Buccaneers would help accomplish that. Yeah, Bruce arians seems to be kind of changing the culture down there, and they have a good defense, Like that's the thing. They turned the ball over a lot this year, but

I mean defensively, they're doing some good things. Yeah. All right, Well, with that, we are going to call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team and everything with regards to with regard excuse me, to Sunday's big game. On Sunday, at lambeau Field. It'll all beyond Packers dot Com. Be sure to check out the Packers YouTube channel for all the great video content, and subscribe to us like

us on iTunes and other podcast services. For West, I'm Mike. Thanks for tuning in, everybody. We'll see you next time.