#698 Packers Unscripted: Frustrating finality

to sixteen, a loss to the Detroit Lions. As we talked about all last week, West, the Packers were right where they wanted to be, the best position they could have been in all things considered, when to get into the playoffs, and instead it's a loss to go home, and the season is over and the Packers will not be in the playoffs for the first time in Matt

Lafleur's four seasons as head coach. Yeah. And the other thing is too, We've found out hours before the game, minutes for the game, really that the Detroit Lions weren't going to be in the playoffs either, as by the Seattle Seahawks winning that game. Again. The Los Angeles Rams

a lot of mixed emotions with this. You know, there was a line and I'm not gonna be able to like repeat it verbatim, but it was something that Alan Lazard said in locker room that really hit home with me after the game, and that was basically there were a lot of parallels in his mind between that game against the Lions and what happened to the Packers a

year ago against the San Francisco forty nine ers. It just offensively, there just wasn't a lot to push with, and I think the Packers for the most part, stuck to the game plan in the first half, the one that I was calling for, which was run it down the lion's throats. I mean, this is a team that again gave up more than three hundred rushing yards to Carolina and also both you know, I had two hundred

yard backs in that game. Green Bay just could not run the ball well enough against that defensive front from Minnesota. They turned over the ball a couple times, and they just didn't have the moments where they need to execute in all three phases. A lot of good complimentary football during the four game win streak for Green Bay and unfortunately none of that was there for them when they

needed it against the Lions. Yeah, I think the biggest thing that I lament as far as this opportunity getting away from the Packers boils down to the fact that there had been so much that went Green Bay's way over the previous month, not just winning the games obviously that they needed to win, but the Packers could have won those games and still headed into Week eighteen with nothing at stake, because other things could have happened that the playoff field could have filled up. There were a

number of things that happened. It felt like a gift from the football gods that the Packers were in the position they were in because of all the other help that they had gotten along the way. And look what happened to the Lions right up to the very end.

A crazy game between Seattle and the Rams, back and forth and goes to overtime, and their playoff hopes end with Seattle, you know, kicking an overtime field goal, and the Packers got an opportunity dropped into their lap by a lot of happenstance, quite frankly, and to let that get away is really the most disappointing thing because there could be some other years here coming up, whether it's next year or further down the road, where you might be fighting for a you know, a ten and seven record,

maybe even an eleven and six record, and you need some help to get where you need to go, and you don't know if that help is going to come. And the Packers got all the help that they could have asked for, and yet the opportunity was squandered. That's the hardest part, I think for me to swallow, because you just don't know if the fates are going to smile on you that much when you're in that situation. Ever again, yeah, people forget when they talked about run

the table. The Packers didn't run the table to get a wild card spot. They ran the table to win the division. Yeah, they actually that was a joint championship

for you know, that title this one. For them to do it as the seventh seed with the wild card on the line was pretty remarkable for the For the table to be set the way it was for green Bay going into this one, and you know, and I don't mean to be flip it and I don't mean to be crashed, but it just it looked like green Bay just didn't quite have it together and the Detroit Lions were the team that was playing to get in

the postseason. I mean, there was that quote after the game and people laughed about it, and they kind of you know, I think bar still put up is like the most epic postgame ever. But like look at that postgame interview with Jamal Williams where he's crying about his you know, losing his grandfather, dedicating the game to him, but then just completely being revved up, you know, saying that people counted us out. We weren't going to get

counted out. You know. I think it just shows you the energy and the aggression and a team much like last year when the Packers played them in the finale, that isn't going to be told that they can't win or they can't make the playoffs. And I just thought Detroit played with that energy the entire time, and the Packers, while good and spurts just they didn't have enough big plays offensively. Defensively they had a few lapses and special

teams they really weren't able to make anything happen. Yeah, I think that's the thing. For me. You mentioned the comparison that Lazard made and to me, to me, the comparison that I felt because of the way the offense was struggling, and really, for me, this game comes down

to an offensive failure. Five of the first six possessions for the Packers they breached the Detroit thirty five yard line, and with five of six possessions breaching the Detroit thirty five yard line, the Packers had nine points on the board.

Between the goal to ghost, stop getting stalled, kicking long field goals, the fumble by Aaron Jones late in the first half, there were just so many opportunities, and to me, the comparison was somewhat the Miami game on Christmas, where the Packers had all these chances to pile up a bunch of points. The difference was in Miami on Christmas,

the defense started taking the football away. And we had talked about that all last week, how the Detroit Lions were not a team that turned the ball over only three turnovers, no interceptions from Jared Goff over their previous eight games coming into Green Bay on Sunday Night in

Week eighteen, and the Packers defense. While I thought, and we'll talk about some of the problems in the second half later on, I thought, for the most part, green Bay's defense played a pretty solid game, but not getting the takeaways that wasn't then enough to be able to bail out an offense that was struggling and not getting the points on the board with the opportunities that it had.

That's the way the game felt to me. Yeah, and dude, we said it all week long, the tarn Erment I wrote a story about it for Crying Out Load on Friday. I mean, the turnover battled green Bay's penchant for forcing takeaways the last month of the season versus the ability for Detroit to protect the football. I mean, Jared Goff is one thing. I mean, the run he got on to go ten straight weeks to end the season without a pick after being intercepted by JayR Alexander Detroit, that's exceptional.

But you and I know better than anybody about what Jamal Williams is like. And Williams actually has a few fumbles this year, but during his four seasons in Green Bay didn't put it on the turf once. Yea once. It's like five hundred and sixty career touches. I mean, they're just very good at doing what they do. And I just thought the consistency of it, it wasn't going to be a blowout by any means. You know, there

were some procedural issues for Detroit. There were some execution issues, but in a game where it's going to be twenty to sixteen, Mike, it stands to reason that two to zero and the turnovercolumn is going to make the difference. And for Detroit it did. Yeah, and it was that the Packers end up losing the turnover battle two to zero.

The fumble by Aaron Jones late in the first half was significant because the Packers are up nine to three, looking like they're going to get more points, and even if the offense was going to stall out again, if you kick a field goal and go up twelve to three, that's still a two score lead at the half. Instead, the Lions recover the fumble, they go the other way, get a field goal before halftime, and suddenly, instead instead of twelve to three or maybe even sixteen to three,

the game is nine to six. And for as much as the Packers had controlled the back and forth the you know, as far as moving the ball up and down the field, as much as the Packers had controlled the first half, to only be up by three points didn't feel good, certainly, didn't didn't feel right, and quite frankly, it almost becomes a three to zero loss in the

turnover battle. When the failed fourth and one early in the game, when Green Bay's on its own thirty yard line that essentially functions as a turnover, it was three points. It handed the Lions three points because the failure there, Detroit is already in scoring range. The defense gets the stop, but Detroit gets the field goal to tie the game

at three. At that point, I thought, defensively, really, through the first three quarters of the game, I thought the Packers played a pretty good defensive football game, only allowing you know, one really backbreaking type of play, which was the play action bootleg and throwback across the field to Khalif Raymond down to the one yard line, which then

the Lions get their first touchdown off of that. But then in the fourth quarter you saw the Lions really establish the power running game with the play action off of it, and you could see the rhythm that Jared Goff and that offense got into where they where they

drove for the touchdown that gave them the lead. And then also in the last three minutes three and a half minutes of the game, when they killed the clock and didn't give the Packers another chance, that the power running with the play action and the rhythm they were

in there. The Packers just couldn't stop it. And you combine that, obviously with two egregious personal files by the Packers, the one on Russeul Douglas on the field goal at the end of the first half, and then the one by Kay Walker that changed a what was going to be a second and nine situation into first and goal on what became the go ahead touchdown drive in the

fourth quarter. The Packers were not in a position to be able to overcome those kinds of mistakes, and those kinds of self inflicted wounds are what we saw many times earlier in the season from the Packers, and it bit them in the last game in the season and they couldn't overcome it. For all the names we talked about going into this game, certainly there were the connections with Matt Lafleur and Joe Barry with Jared Goff during their time in LA. We talked about aman Ross, Saint Brown,

We certainly talked about Jamal Williams. I don't think you could have spent all week on it. You couldn't really do justice to what the Detroit Lions offensive line is now. They took so many years there, Mike, where they were

trying to build that thing up. They've done it in Taylor Decker and Penny Seul, I thought were one of the biggest reasons why they won this game when you look at the fact of Packers edge rushers did not have a quarterback hit, the pressures were minimal, and Golf was able to operate the offense in which he wanted to operate. And then I think about after the Walker penalty. You know, Green Bay is in a position there that they were kind of in last week against Minnesota, right,

but they held defensively. Yeah, different part of the game, but they weren't able to breach that defensive front in this game. You look at it, Seul is moving people, Decker's moving people. Frank reag now on a bad wheel is moving people. Detroit is set up so well to win in short yardage situations and I feel like that seeing it firsthand twice this year. As much credit goes to Jamal Williams for his seventeen touchdowns, that offensive line

creating opportunities for him was fantastic. Like I've said an insider inbox, the fact that the Lions got off to such a slow start. The NFL got real lucky. The NFC got real lucky because I think this is a team that can give a lot of teams problems. Yes, they might not be as good on the road as they are at home, but I'll be honest with you, Mike,

on Sunday night, they look pretty darn good. Yeah. And we had talked about we had talked about how last week, how this was going to be such a different matchup in the trenches from the game against Minnesota, and not just because Minnesota was banged up on the offensive line. Even if Minnesota had all their preferred starters on the offensive line, this was going to be a different matchup in the trenches, and it played out that way. I agree with you totally with what you're saying about the

guys on Detroit's offensive line. I went back and glanced at the film the Packers goal to ghost situation early on in the game. I can't remember his first name at the moment, but his last name is Bugs number ninety six, big defensive lineman. First down, first down, he whips Josh Myers and gets and gets the tackle. On the running play. Second down, he whips Elton Jenkins and gets the tackle on the running play, sets up the third down. The Packers can't score and you kick the

field goal. This was a different matchup in the trenches, and the Packers didn't and it wasn't It wasn't just one guy, you know. And the Packers made the switch at right tackle, putting Zach Tom in for Josh and Iman. But the problems upfront for the Packers were not just because of Josh and Iman at right tackle. There were problems.

There were problems across the board in this game. And uh and when the other team, when the other team has your number in the trenches, it becomes a very very difficult game to win, and the Packers just didn't have enough to win it. I don't know what happened with Detroit's defenses year with Aaron Glen, and obviously we heard about the mid season shuffling they had. I haven't watched a lot of lines football outside of preparing for

these games and watching these two games. There must have just been something in the water for how Glenn attacked them and how they were able to have as much success as they did. I know they mixed their coverages. I know they did a lot of different things, but like green Bay had such a difficult time working sideline to sideline in this game. It's not about they just didn't weren't able to run the ball. They weren't. They were disrupting what green Bay typically does well with their motions,

with their move stuff, their play action. I mean, they had some success with Christian Watson, but for the most part, Detroit did an exceptional job of neutralizing that and taking green Bay out of its rhythm. Yeah, I mean eight quarters against the Lions this year, the Packers only scored

two touchdowns. Al Lazard had a touchdown in Detroit. He had the one in the second half on Sunday Night, and yardage wise, the Packers moved the ball in both games against Detroit, but anytime they got within scoring range, it became a huge struggle to do what you needed to do to get the points that you needed to get in those opportunities. And that's really how both of those games played out, where the Packers defense didn't play that poorly, but yet the offense wasn't able to take

advantage of what it had. And two losses to the Lions, two very very agonizing and maddening and frustrating losses to the Lions is why the Packers are not continuing to

play right now. Yeah, And it was, like you said, Mike, it's in a situation where so many things had to go their way, and they did, and green Bay took the field on Sunday at home in their place, and whether that was what twenty outside I mean, like you thought this was setting up in aligning to be the type of game green Bay needed it to be to be able to make that trip back to the postseason. But as we saw over the course of those sixty minutes,

specifically the last fifteen just wasn't meant to be. Yeah, Well, a little bit of sponsor business here. West Serious XM NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need twenty four to seven, three sixty five And at Cousin Subs, we have something for everyone like our Wisconsin Cheese Kurds, mac and Cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. Cousin Subs

fifty years of better. All Right. On Monday, the day after the loss, we had the final open locker room session and then also heard or the final time as far as the season goes from head coach Matt Lafleur, I want to touch on some of the reactions and comments from that before we sign off for today. The locker room reaction there was, and I wrote about this on the website if for those who want to check out the piece I put together on the Packers processing

their emotions and the uncertainty. And as always at this stage, there's a lot of uncertainty about the upcoming offseason, certainly Aaron Rodgers being at the top of the list, and I don't want to get into all the speculation in this and that Aaron Rodgers is going to make his decision at some point, he'll do it in a timely fashion and the Packers will make their plans for twenty

twenty three moving forward from there. The sense I got in the locker room west was that was that while there was there was a certain amount of pride that the players had in turning around a four and eight season that looked like it was going nowhere and being able to give themselves a chance, there was just there was a ton of regret that all of that effort to turn it around and generate something in a positive direction.

Ended up going for naught because they didn't get their shot at the postseason, which which is what the players play for. That that's the sense that I got. I was in the locker room in Chicago and in Miami, a very spacious locker room in Miami, when the other media were not able to get to the game. I was in there after they beat the Rams, and I definitely was in there after they beat the Vikings as

we do our postgame media responsibilities. And as I walked into the locker room on Sunday night, and guys, you know that we were all let in a little bit earlier than usual because you don't have to go over what to tomorrow's schedule is or anything like that. Most of the guys were in their lockers taking their clothes off. There was Tyler Davis. This image of Tyler Davis that I think is going to be burned on my brain until I leave this earth, still in his pads, with

his hands up, with his jersey everything hands up. You're just staring right at the middle of the locker room, something I never really quite seen before. And I was in Seattle and fourteen. I've seen a lot, you know, over the years and what these locker rooms can be like. And I think it was that I'm not going to speak for Tyler. I always spoke with Jason Wilde about this, but it was that realization that not necessarily that everything you've done for was for not but more just the

idea of you. The work they put in not only this season but specifically over this last month, the energy, the enthusiasm, the positivity, the ability to not cast stones at each other, the ability to look at each other and say we can still do this. How it all ends. Most seasons end this way for thirty one. Other teams, you're gonna end either with not being able to make the playoffs or losing when you get to said postseason. But I think the Packers really thought they did have

something special brewing. Yeah, And it shows you when you dig yourself into a hole the way that Green Bay dug themselves into a hole. There is no margin for error. Matt Lafleur mentioned the margin for error probably twenty times since the end of the game on Sunday. It is razor thin. There are things that need to change this offseason. It sounds from what Matt laflor said. It won't be on the coaching staff side of things. It's probably more

in terms of philosophy in terms of what's emphasized. But the Packers do have a lot of work to do because they still have big goals and there are a lot there is a lot of talent on this football team, and this year, for whatever reason, everybody they had, the draft picks they made, the players they signed, the players they retained, it wasn't enough to get them back to

that plate, that postseason dance. Yeah, and I wanted to touch on some of the comments from Lafleur as well, because because he said it, you know, towards the end of his thirty minute you know, Q and A with the media that when you have the expectations that you have in Green Bay and you have a season that

ends like this, it's a complete failure. And and I think I think that's a that's an important message to the fans, just so that you know there aren't people out there who think, oh, so the Packers won four games in a row towards the end of the regular season, like they really, you know, they really feel like they have this figured out for twenty twenty three, or that they're going to hang their hat on that or something that is not absolutely not the message that Matt Lafleur

was delivering on Monday. There is a lot to study, there is a lot to work on, a lot to go over. He did say, as you noted, he's not anticipating any changes to the coaching staff unless coaches get opportunities promotions potentially to go elsewhere, which we saw happen last year and one of those guys this wasn't going to be part of the show, but again this is

this is Packers unscripted. Before we came in here to tape this, I was working on an answer for the Mornings Insider Inbox column because, um, a reader asked about Rich Bisaccia and and I think asked a very good question, how is this guy not being mentioned as a head coaching candidate? And look, I'm thrilled Rich bisacci came to Green Bay and he, you know, did a whale of a job with the Green Bay's special teams in one year,

turning things around significantly. Matt Lafleur is very, very excited and appreciative of where that phase of the game is for the Packers right now. But when you talk about a coach that maybe could be looked at for a promotion somewhere, you would think Bisacci is that is a guy. But yet we're not hearing that. And and I honestly I don't know rich very well. He's only been here for one year. We say hi to him in the

hallway sometimes if we pass, you know, walking by. But I honestly feel, I honestly feel bad for him that this is a guy that, to me I think should deserves a shot as a head coach in the NFL. Well, and just listen to these guys talk about him in the locker room. It's one thing for Matt Lafloord to mention, you know, this guy's has our special teams pointing up. But it's listening to what Mason Crosby, what Keyshawn Nixon, what Kenny Clark would all these guys have said about him.

Whether you play for him or not on teams, there is an energy that is infectious with him. There is a it pushes guys to just want to play harder, play better, learn more. He has He has a leadership quality about him that is that is off the charts. And yet yet it's it's difficult to describe in a lot of ways, but he just he exudes leadership. And I don't I don't want to turn this into finger pointing or he said, she said, But like the part I wonder you ask, hey, how is this guy not

a head coach in the NFL? How is this guy not the head coach at the last Vegas Exactly? I mean, that's that's where it starts. He never wants he took over. He took over an absolute dysfunctional mess as an interim head coach last year, led the Raiders to just their second postseason appearance since two thousand and two, and yet he doesn't really get serious consideration to take over that job full time to the Packers benefit, because then he

came to Green Bay. But my goodness, like you know, the Raiders have been to the playoffs twice since two thousand and two. He led them there when the season was completely circling the drain. He led them to one of those two in the last two decades, and yet he's still not being considered a strong head coaching candidate in the searches that are going on out there for the Raiders. Last year or for anybody else this year,

I don't get it. Yeah, and he had the ability to actually kind of have the internship to have the interim title there, and yeah, that wasn't the direction they went. But be that as it may. The fact that you listen to what Matt Lafloor says and what he's even learned from him from Besacia here during their one season together. If it works out that way, Bessaci is here, he's developing a heck of a special team's assistant. And Byron

Storer and then also Michael Spurlock. I mean, the Packers have an identity on special teams and the fact that they've been able to do that in the span of under a year, considering where we were last year at this time when we were talking about things the band a year before, and yeah, I mean, but I mean it's just it's it's a credit to him and and uh, you know, the Packer's ability to identify some talent on

teams and start developing some guys in that area as well. Well, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go on like a big tangent there, but it was it was it was on my mind. I wanted to get. I wanted to get your thoughts, uh um on it as well, because, um, you know, sub Man. Five different places he's been west, he's had either associate or assistant head coach as part of his title Mississippi and College and then four NFL teams before coming to Green Bay. He doesn't have that

as part of his title in Green Bay. Matt Lafleur doesn't have that title necessarily on his staff. But um, but I mean it, yeah, it's it's it's a head scratcher. Can I be an assistant senior writer? Can I an assistant like it's like the office, like assistant to the regional manager, assisted to the senior writer. Maybe we'll work, will work on that. That's not even that's not even my call. You can go to ourt. You can go

to our boss, assistant, the assistant senior writer. All right, Well, before we go, any other any other thoughts comments that we heard from the locker room or from Matt Lafleur on Monday, that that you want to mention here before we go. We didn't get a chance to talk about it because all the unfortunate minus negative things that happened

to the game. But but Christian Watson, uh and the way which he came on this season was talking with Robert Tunyan and Alan Lazard a little bit this week, and you know those guys after the game on Sunday, everybody's kind of feeling it a little bit. They came up short. Christian Watson one hundred yard performance. We've seen it time and time again with him, the way he

can spark an offense. In Lazard and Tony, you know, they went up to him afterwards and basically just told him like, good job, Like they didn't want to make it into this like oh, we're proud of you kind of thing, but like the way this guy composed himself overcame the knee injury, overcame two separate hamstring injuries, had a very scary concussion in Buffalo, and kind of willed the offense in the second half of the season. Tonyon even said it like he sort of is what made

them go the second half of the year. Yeah, you did. Mattal Floor said it. I mean like they feel like they haven't even touched the surface with this kid's potential. And when you're looking at bright spots, when you're looking at things to hang your hat on for the future. The Packers had to make a huge move last March when they finally traded Davante Adams. I don't think when you and I were sitting here wrapping up the season and unscripted last year, we thought, under any circumstances, Davante

Adams wouldn't be on this team in twenty twenty two. Correct. That's the way it all played out, though, and the Packers needed to get that pick right when they did acquire those extra picks to be able to go and get a guy like Christian Watson to come in that has the potential. Adams had a phenomenal year this year with the Raiders, but I think with Watson, you look at his numbers, you look at the separation, you look

at all the things. Whether he builds up some more strength, whether he gets the route running down a little bit better, this guy's going to be the ultimate weapon here, and the Packers at least have him in the fold now

for the foreseeable future. Yeah. Absolutely, the future is um tantalizing and exciting when it comes to when it comes to number nine, Christian Watson, his UH three one hundred yard receiving games as a rookie first Packers player to do that since with three one hundred yard games in a rookie Seasonsiving Sterling, Sharp, No, Greg Jennings, Billy Houghton, Billy nineteen fifty two, Bro Taylor and I Taylor Taylor Rodgers who produces and shows all the Packers daily segments

that that you see on the website and on cable TV and whatnot. He and I double checked it. It was a It was a note that he had found Greg Jennings, Sterling, Sharp, James Lofton all had like two hundred yard games. Watson had three in the last one with at least three. Billy Houghton had five back in nineteen fifty two. So just something to think about seventy years and Watson basically did that in half a season. Considering when he became a regular part of the offense.

What a season. Sterling must have had an eighty seven though, because then he had like eight hundred yards. It was eight eighty eight, But yeah, he had he had he had about eight hundred yards. He had about eight hundred yards, but only only twice did he actually go over one hundred in a game. And that's why next season we have to get Spofford Stats and info. We gotta get

sales to sell that. We gotta have that. I gotta give, I gotta give the the I give the uh, you know, Tom Fanning, Nate la Cassio, those guys upstairs that do a tremendous job on that. And then also Taylor Run don't give you don't want to give Taylor any crown he doesn't. Well, I'm giving him credit because he brought

me that. He brought me that stat this morning when I shot Packers Daily, when I first walked into the office, and we double check just to make sure, because I wasn't convinced until I checked James Lofton and Greg Jennings and Sterling Sharp. But I'm excited for like nine o'clock tonight when I get a text from you being like, oh, gosh, darn it, James Jones did do it too. But we'll just say that you're right. Yeah, we'll call it even.

All right. Well, we went on a couple of tangents here to end the show today, but we will wrap it up there. We will have another episode later this week, a little bit more of a season wrap up. We'll also look ahead to the big wild card weekend coming up in the NFL, the six playoff games, and we'll give some of our thoughts on the postseason that lies ahead for everybody else. But with that, I want to you don't want to, well, maybe I'll do the show

by myself for Wes. I am Mike. Thank you for tuning in, everybody, and we will see you next time.