#699 Packers Unscripted: That’s a wrap

before we turned on the cameras. Here. I'm just gonna start with this, and this is a This is a wide open You can take this any direction you want to. I will give my thoughts as well. What will you remember most about the Green Bay Packers season? Man, there's so many different ways you can go with this. Um, I'll do the old down capers here. Let's start with the positives. Uh, this team did not quit. Uh. They could have easily pitched the tent, been done with the

season right after Philadelphia. You know, at that point they lost and what was at six of seven, Mike, things were not going well. It was not looking promising to make the playoffs, and these guys kept themselves in it. They went and had a very gutsy performance down in Miami. Uh, they imposed their will on the Minnesota Vikings here at

lambeau Field. The ability to overcome some of the injuries, to overcome some of the inconsistency and still stay together, I think is one of the big hallmarks this team and a testament to the job you know that locker room did, and also the coaching staff, and then on the other side of it, certainly the the you know inability to to meet the expectations for this season. It's probably the lasting image, just because I don't think you and I I'm not saying I never take anything for granted, Mike.

We've seen these seasons can go any sort of different ways. Look at the l A. Rams I didn't think. I'm guessing they did figure that this is how their year was going to go. But I definitely thought that was for sure a playoff team. Yeah, me too. I thought this was a team that was going to contend in a wide open NFC race, and the Packers couldn't get themselves into that dance. Early in the season, the offensive

game just wasn't there. The passing games struggled. I I the running game wasn't as domineering as I thought it was going to be, and then defensively as well as I thought the Packers played in the first half of the season, there was sort of that midseason laps and and kind of picked it back up at the end

of the year. Uh, they're they're just when you look at the record at eight and nine, I think it is a good reflection of the fact that Green Bay just was too inconsistent this year and and they kind of ended up being. It was reflected in that in the winning last column. Yeah, I echo those thoughts in terms of I will remember that this team certainly did not quit, but but that it also just it fell so far short of expectations based on where everyone including us,

thought the season was going to go. A couple of things that I will remember most about this season, more more so specific moments than than overarching that I'll share. One is that I will always remember the last play of the game in London, because I'm always going to wonder what might have happened had Aaron Rodgers not broken his thumb and he you know, he got that broken

thumb on the hail Mary attempt. When that whole second half in London went sideways for the Packers and and U if that game doesn't come down to a Hail Mary attempting that thumb is not broken, I'll always wonder where this season might have gone. The other thing I'll I will remember is the win in Christmas. Win on

Christmas in Miami for a couple of reasons. One, you coming back to the press box after doing pregame radio and telling me the story about making your way through the hard rock nightclub or whatever that's buried somewhere in hard rock stadium and uh, and the fact that you came to the press box and didn't spend the game in the nightclub. Appreciate it because we did have we

did have, we did have some work to do. Um. But also just walking out of that stadium, walking out of that press box in Miami on Christmas, after that big victory and sort of going okay, like the playoffs are actually a realistic possibility, Like that was the moment

for me. You know, I didn't I didn't really want to to buy into everything with so much that had to go right and so much that had to happen, um and UH, and that weekend is kind of when it came together and and the playoffs went from you know, for for a team that had been four and eight, went from being a total pipe dream to a very realistic possibility, and the Packers ended up putting themselves in

that position. So that the feeling, the feeling of walking out of that press box in in Miami on Christmas is something I'll remember because that was that was the first really truly uplifting feeling after a game that we had had really quite some time, going way back to to the Bero. Probably it's the walking out of the press box in Tampa Bay after the after the two point victory, when the two point conversion was stopped and you felt, Okay, Packers got a big road win here.

You know this, this is a good one. This will mean something as the season goes along. And that feeling didn't really come back, and at least for me, until the win on Christmas. No, because until that day everything was kind of by the skin of their teeth. I mean you kind of forget that, you know, you got out of Chicago after being down nine points going into the fourth quarter against the Bears team that ultimately won three games. The Dallas game went right down to the

wire like it was such a tight season. I mean, I was thinking about that in the fourth quarter of the Detroit game. I'm like, well, of course, this is how this is gonna go, maybe not necessarily from the losing standpoint, but that it was gonna come right down to those last fifteen minutes because that's the way it was absent basically one game the entire season for green Bay. Um. But yeah, it is funny you go back and you

think about that game in Christmas. You hope everything ends up being okay for Tua, But those the three interceptions back to back to back, the way that the tide had finally shifted for Green Bay. You don't wish that for Tongua Bloya at all in terms of the injury

and the long term implications of that. But it was the first time for Green Bay it felt like, Okay, the floodgates had finally opened in their favor, as opposed to a lot of these games where they had a hard time taking the ball away early, then when they did, they weren't scoring points off of it. That was the game where it was like, Okay, maybe green Bay can

do something with h Yeah. Alright, My next question, do you have a favorite play or favorite moment from this season, the Christian Watson end around in Chicago, because that was the one where it was like got him right. It wasn't like a really good catch, it wasn't like a

really good throw. It wasn't this big interception, It was a It was one of those plays where they just caught the Bears with their pants down, I mean, honestly, and unfortunately for Green Bay they were on the receiving end of that a couple of times this season, but in that specific instance, it went back in their aver. And as I was just talking about, when you lose seven of eight, you come back in the fourth quarter to win that game and score you know, however, what

was zero eight zero in the fourth quarter in Chicago? Yeah, those were the Those are the turning point games. I think it also was another reminder of this is what this young man can really bring to this offense. I think when you're talking about us getting back for the off season program in April and then in o t as a minicamp, Christian Watson is going to be the big name because that is the brightest star right now in this orbit for Green Bay. Yeah. Absolutely for me,

and that one certainly ranks up there for me. Although it doesn't because I was actually sick and covering that game from home. I was not in the press box

with you in uh in Chicago for that one. The one for me is is Keshawn Nixon's hunter and five yard kickoff return for a touchdown, because then I had talked about this after the Vikings game, just that the crescendo that was building with the crowd where you had, you know, first and goal in the one second, and goal in the one third, and goal in the one and the defense gets makes that goal line stand, gets

to stop, and the Vikings kicked the field goal. The crowd was really into it with the way the defense had risen up in a difficult situation. And then Nixon takes the ensuing kickoff, huge hole up the middle of the field. We could see it from the press box. It was sort of a by the time he got to like the thirty yard line, it was like, oh

my goodness, like there's nobody going to stop him. And uh, the fact, obviously that broke a really long streak, you know, going back to Randall Cobb as far as a Packers player taking a kickoff return, the distance and and all that and what it meant, and you know, setting really setting the stage for what became a big, a big

blowout win, and and setting things up for weekends. And how much grief all the DBS and everybody we're giving Nixon for being tackled at the seven the weeker, Yeah, the week before, the week before in Miami's very I mean, Devin Hester did it all the time, but it's very rarely in the NFL do you see a guy have a ninety three yard return or whatever it was and then come back the next week. It was like, So it's a lot of times those kids off returns, they

surprise you, right, you're not expecting them. And in this instance, it was almost when he got that return at the beginning of it, even before the whole opened, you're like, okay, Keishaw Nicks and the ways returning the ball, are we getting close here? Is this going to be it? And obviously he punched it in. Yeah. All right. Um, I'm gonna ask you for some various m vps in different categories. Here. You get to pick first, and then I will have to pick somebody else. Um, your offensive m v P

for Aaron Jones. He was the most consistent player for them and Mike there when when Aaron Jones produced, the Packers won football games. It's just the way this season went. I mean, I don't have the exact stats in front of me right now, but show me the games where he had over a hundred total yards, show me the games where he scored multiple touchdowns. He was the ultimate reflection of what this offense was doing. He finished the season with a career high one thousand, one hundred and

twelve receiving rushing yards. I would have liked to have seen the passing game work out a little bit more for Green Bay in the backfield. They weren't as dynamic in that area as I thought they were going to be with the you know, the Poe only and some of the stuff going into the season. But but certainly keep this in mind too, Mike. He averaged five point three yards per carry. Aaron Jones didn't have a carry individually over thirty six yards on the season. His ability

just to run eight nine ten yards at a clip. Uh, it was really a huge impact. I felt like in this offense again, and he was a guy that was there for them every week. Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly with Aaron Jones offensive m VP. That would be my choice as well. In order to pick somebody different, I'm gonna say Christian Watson just because and I know he really was only a big part of things for half the season because of the injuries and and other things he

dealt with early on. But he changed Green Bay's offense when the season was clearly going south, not going anywhere. He changed things. He changed the way most defenses had to defend green Bay. I mean that that stretch of you know, eight touchdowns over a span of four games. And I know the Packers even lost a couple of

those games. You know, Tennessee and Philadelphia were a couple of games in in that mix there, but eight touchdowns over four games from a rookie, I mean it was absolutely unprecedented, and he completely changed the tenor and the tone of how people felt about the Packers offense. So he so he would be my pick. That line Tony and Robert Tonyan told me to after the game against Detroit, how he's like, you know, our offense kind of got

going when Christian got back. Yeah. I think it's it's one sentence, but it really encapsulates how things went for them this season. Yeah, wholeheartedly defensive m v P. I mean it's Jayre. It has to be. I mean, he he's a shutdown cornerback in every uh sense of the word. For him to have five picks this year was big too. I mean, he's a guy that doesn't typically get thrown out a lot um. He had to create some opportunities for himself throughout the course here. I thought he really

improved his hands. There weren't as many drop picks as there were his first few seasons. I mean, he had five picks this year, the same amount as what he had his first four seasons, which I guess was more like three and a half. But still, you get the point. Uh, A guy that got a big contract in the offseason, a guy that welcomed the bright lights. You know, he put down the challenge there to Justin Jefferson and the Vikings.

He met that challenge. I think the thing for green Bay moving forward is finding even more ways to to incorporate him into this defense. You know, I he's to the point now, Mike, the way I look at him where it's like, you know how we talk about you build your offense around like your skill position players. It's almost getting to the point where it's like, you want to build your defense around what Alexander does best, And uh, I think that's something Green Bay is really gonna have

to consider this offseason. Yeah, that's a valid point. Um. Absolutely For me, my pick for defensive m VP is Preston Smith. And I say that, Um, you know, no, he didn't have the you know, dozen sacks that he had you know earlier with you know, with the other Smith bro previously in his time in Green Bay and all that, and you know, I think he ended up missing what is that a million dollar bonus in his contract by like one and a half sacks or like you did with one and a half. Story short, he

did pay and he didn't didn't quite didn't quite get there. Um. But the reason I say Preston Smith is because this defense, this defense was wildly inconsistent throughout the vast majority of the season. It had even when the Packers were losing games, It had stretches in those games where it looked really really good and then suddenly things would turn and the defense would look like it was really really struggling. I thought Preston Smith was the most consistent, most reliable, most

dependable player on the defensive side of the ball. I remember watching from the press box in Philadelphia one time he got out of his rushing lane and Jalen Hurts took off running. And that's one of the only times I can remember watching a play, either from the press box or looking on film where I just went, Wow, Preston got like way out, way outside of himself there

and the defense got hurt. Right. You saw that with a lot of other players throughout the course of the season, and that one play in Philadelphia might be the only really glaring negative mistake I saw Preston Smith make all season. I thought, you know, he's become a leader on the defensive side of the ball. Maybe not as as vocal as some other guys, but a leader on the defensive side of the ball and just a rock solid, dependable guy who I think is going to be a big

part of the foundation for this defense still moving forward. Yeah, and he also remember what was asked of him after Week nine, Right, Uh, that was the biggest travesty This whole thing is we didn't get to see what him and Rashaan Gary could do, right, Yeah, we only got

a half season of that. But when Gary goes down it with all due respect to Kingsley, Nigbari, Jonathan Garvin and eventually Justin Hollins coming it was Preston like everybody is going to look at their pass rush uh challenges on a week to week basis and planned for that being the top edge rusher. Uh. And if you think about it, for so long, he was always the compliment nary,

consistent guy that's playing off another pass rusher. Well, this year the Packicks didn't have that benefit, and I thought he actually brought his game up to another level, was more impactful during the second half of the season when Gary wasn't available. So uh, certainly an accountable player that is going to be a part of this thing for years to come. Down Green Band, All right, now, you can't pick the obvious, which is Keishaan Nixon. But who's your special team's m v P aside from Nixon? Who

is you know, clearly the obvious choice here. But so this is like picking you know, m v P number two on special team And what's funny? Can I just make one little comment about Nixon before we do that? It's if we were really picking one Kishan Nixon's obviously yet But everybody's going to talk about the kickoff returner thing. Keishaan Nixon, what him and Ruby Ford brought his flyers the first two months of the season that changed the

tenor of Packers punt coverage. There were a lot of years there where if the punter is not placing the ball correctly, there's a big opportunity for a return there. I thought both of those guys, they gave them no room to operate within All that being said that that was that those two guys in that in those positions and what they were doing was was a big part of the culture change on special teams. I think is what you're getting my guy is going to actually be

down Levitt though the other guy they brought in last year. Now, Levitt was not without flaw as a player this season, but it was that conversation I had with Kenny Clark mentioning how him and Nixon they changed the culture of special teams. You saw it so many times this year, Mike, the way that Levitt approached coverage teams, the way he

approached some of those grittier aspects of this thing. Guys like he he approached that phase of the game like it was the offense at the twenty yard line with two minutes to go, and you gotta punch this thing. And he approached it like a defense on the goal line. He had an energy level at that position that I thought helped bring along your your Turek Carpenters. You're in it gains your Isaiah McDuffie's who ended up leading the

Packers and coverage tackles this year. You bring in I got, you know, so many different players throughout the course of this year that that ended up making an impact. And I thought it really started with them bringing in Lovette right before the beginning of training camp. Yeah, my pick, my pick in this category obviously not being able to pic NICs, and I certainly like Levitt as a choice as well. This is going to be kind of an odd pick, but I'm gonna pick Pat o'donnaldco. No, I'm

gonna pick Pat o'donald. And it's not because he had, you know, a Pro Bowl season as a punter. Um you know, he was certainly solid. There weren't any you know, major issues in the punning game by any means, But I felt like Pat O'Donnell was the guy, maybe more than anybody else between the white lines who settled everything down with the field goal operation and how everything had gone so wrong with the field goal operation in one.

There weren't those issues in two, And it seemed almost from the very beginning of the season with O'Donnell as the holder, experienced guy done it for eight years and Cargo or whatever it was, and he pat O'Donnell helped get Mason Crosby back to being Mason Crosby and not the guy we saw in two that you could tell was was rattled and bothered by all of the issues that were going on with with the operation as a whole. So um again, you know the I thought, I thought,

what I thought. What O'Donnell did just as a just as a calming presence in in that area was was really impactful. And twenty four punts inside the twenty this year too. For him, there weren't the typical kind of shanks that have been sort of plagued in Green Band. I mean, they were able to win the field position battle a lot of times because of what him and

the Flyers were doing. Yeah, yeah, I agree, all right, last one of this type for you, And again this is where you don't get to pick Christian Watson because he's the obvious choice rookie of the year. It's probably the quietest that's ever gotten on Packers unscripted. Like I said, I didn't, I didn't. I didn't give it because it's easy to say kuway Walker. It's very easy to say

kway Walker. But I want to give a special acknowledgement to Romeo Dobbs in this opera, in this chance, because while Dobbs coming back from the ankle in Drew was tough that first month of the season, Romeo Dobbs had to be a lot more veteran of a player than what Green Bay really had ever asked from a rookie. Alan Lazard was dealing with the ankle and even you know he had you had, you know, Sammy Watkinson's a

pull in the hamstring. They really leaned on Romeo Dobbs the first two months of the year and that that performance he had in Tampa Bay, Michael Agreement. If he doesn't have three catches for seventy three yards in that touchdown early, Packers probably don't win that game. He I think it is just his consistency level. I think there was probably that rookie wall a little bit he hit

the ankle did not help in in Detroit. Yeah, I mean he ended up missing a solid month of and and and that's the thing when you're talking about rookies too, it's not just missing a month of games, it's missing all those practice reps along the way as well. Romeo Dobbs, to me, did not look like the same player when he came back from the ankle injury is the one

we saw before. Because what I will remember most about dobbs rookie season where those two catches in Buffalo, and I know that that game ended up in a loss. Those two catches, the one in the end zone, which was actually right below us where the press box was in Buffalo. We had a tremendous view of that touchdown catch, and then the other one that was along the far sideline.

Those are the types of players that you just kind of go, wow, this is this is a rookie playing on the road in a primetime game and he's able to do something like that. And again, unfortunately, he wasn't really the same guy after the ankle injury when he came back. But I still think there's a lot of promise there with with Romeo totally and and also in credit goes again and you might talk about it, but you know quay Walker, the way he came out and

played as a first round pick. The thing was, though, is he did have deve Andre with him there at the beginning. There was a lot of stretches for Romeo Dobbs, I mean it was him and Smart to rate like these young guys had to play a lot more than what I thought they were going to. I thought it was going to be Lazard, Watkins and Cobb for the first you know, two months of the year, and then

you start bringing along the rookies. The rookies had to play, and I was impressed by the fact that Dobbs didn't turn away from that. Yeah, and I'm going to take this opportunity as far as picking a Rookie of the Year to to give a shout out to another young man, and that's Zach tom On the you know, the fourth round pick, fourth round pick out of Wake Forest. The Packers asked him to The Packers asked him to play

pretty much anywhere on the offensive line except center. I think you know, he didn't play, Yeah, he didn't play.

He didn't play that in a game. But but he did have to be the backup to Josh Meyers there and and just so many times, and we talked about it on this show at different times during the year that he that he was thrown in kind of on a now because of an injury or because of you know, the example of of David Bactieri being a late you know, late game scratch or you know, last minute scratch for the game out in out in Washington. Um Zach Tom.

Zach versatility is a big buzzword that you hear, especially at draft time, and it was and and it surrounds a lot of offensive lineman that the Packers draft, and this young man lived up to it in his rookie year, doing everything that the Packers asked him to do. And I think he can. He's potentially wherever they decided to play him, wherever he settles in, you know, as as more of a full time player somewhere down the road.

I think Zach Tom has a chance to be a really, really big part of the foundation of this offensive line going forward. He's a young man who's already proven a lot um in a in a rookie season in which he wasn't really a full time starter. I just love his footwork, I love his balance, I love his poise. The only thing, as Aaron Rodgers said mid season, and it's just he just needs to get on a little bit more weight, yeah, which knowing the end, and he certainly looks like he has the body to be able

to he's a tall kid. Yeah, but it just it was the playing left tackle after they planned the whole week of Okay, Yosh is finally going to be a right tackle in Washington, and then you don't have Dave, so he has to play left tackle. You look, even last week he goes in at right tackle these last couple of games because of the stinger that Josh Naiman was dealing with. He never blinked in any of those instances, and I think that boards really well for that young

man's upside. Yeah. Well, I want to shift gears here in a minute, but before that, some sponsored business here. West Serious x M NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need 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. Can I do one last

stat really fast? I was just looking over the staff pages. Keishaw Nixon had eleven punt returns this year. He didn't fair catch one, well, of course, not with with no with no fair catches, not a not a one of them. That that that that statistic probably more than the kickoff return yards and the fifty plus returns on kickoffs all those that he had. That statistic probably tells you more about Keisha Nixon than that anything else. Eleven put returns, not a single fair catch. That's a good one. I

like that. I'm glad you brought that up. Um before we go, I do want to get your thoughts on wild Card weekend in the NFL. Who cares? Come on with no? I'm kidding, yeah, let's talk about Smith. Well, that that was That was where I was going to start the two games on Saturday, Seattle at San Francisco, Chargers at Jaguars. The second one far more compelling to me. Justin Herbert against Trevor Lawrence in the playoff game, both

of these young quarterbacks making their playoff debut. Who's if I'm not mistaken, Herbert's hasn't been in the playoffs yet, has he? Because they got because they lost the one to the Raiders at at the end of the season last year, So that that young quarterback matchup is uhum is as good as it gets. As far as Seattle at San Francisco, you know, I think I said this

on our last show. The way things turned out, um, I really wish the Detroit Lions were going to San Francisco because I'd be just interested to see what a Lions team that finished the season eight and two in their last ten games might be able to do against a Niners team that's one ten straight. And it's absolutely on a roll here heading into the post. I am with you on that, but I actually take the opposite

of you on this with Seattle. I'm really excited Seattle made it because while they kind of faded late where the Lions got on this big resurgence, the Seahawks were the better team throughout the course of the year, from Week one to Week seventeen. And and it's not just that, it's the fact that Kenneth Walker you know, as an Offensive Player of the Year or a Rookie Year candidate. And the fact that Geno Smith threw for four thousand yards at a hundred passer rating. You and I, Mike,

if you go back. I don't know if it was the bye week episode or when we talked about it, but we were asking, you know, is he gonna be able to stay on this track here? Is he gonna be able to keep this up? He did. He put it together for an entire season. And I love these stories because this is what makes the NFL great. There are so many times where you you'll see a veteran quarterback or you'll see a veteran player he kind of sticks around and sticks around. You're like, how is this

guy still here? How is he still doing this? Mike? Do you remember some of the narratives around Gino Smith when he'd have to go away? When Russell Wilson was down, a lot of people said some pretty nasty things about him. When they made the decision to trade him, a lot of people are like, seriously, you're going to the season with Drew Lock and Geno Smith? Are you guys crazy?

And he proved them wrong. And the fact that it's Seattle who was the front runner in the NFC West to start this year versus the San Francisco forty Niners that finished the way they did. I'm actually really excited for that matchup. And and again, I don't know what the ratings are going to be Saturday night. I don't know how many people are paying attention to Jacksonville Jaguars. They were a fun football team to watch a little bit. I got to see him, Christian Kirk. I will keep

saying it over and over again. I was a hud wrong on him in their decision to sign him and give him the money they did. Uh, Doug, Doug Peterson, Dude Again, anytime you think that the head coach doesn't matter the National Football League, look at what the Jacksonville Jaguars did this year. It was a big, big reminder of what head coaches can do. Yeah. The little bit that I got to watch the Jacksonville Jaguars this year, I was really really impressed with Uh, Trevor Lawrence's arm

and his fearlessness. Like this, I mean this kid, lets it rip as as the old saying goes, and and quite frankly is reminiscent to me of what I started to see with Justin Herbert in the Chargers last year. A young quarterback with a really good arm who was not afraid to let it fly, I mean, and that that's uh. I think that's a really really intriguing young quarterback matchup for opening round of the postseason. And credit to Peterson man the thing that I think was one

of his undoings in Philadelphia, he corrected it. In Jacksonville. They have Travis e t N. They fed Travis e t N y James Robinson was traded. They didn't screw around with it. They said, this is our running back. And you're seeing how those two guys, those two clumps and dudes have really played off of each other. Yeah. Three games on Sunday, Miami at Buffalo, Giants at Vikings, Baltimore at Cincinnati. UM, it's hard for me to picture Miami since TWA is not back and they have to

go with Skyler Thompson. It's hard for me to picture Miami giving Buffalo much of a game. Shout out though. Hearing the news that Micah Hyde was back at practice, UM, they've opened the window for him to potentially be activated off of injured reserve. That that either maybe divisional round or if the if the Buffalo Bills can advance to the a f C Championship, there's a chance that Micah Hyde could actually return this season. That kind of I mean it, you know, fills my heart with some joy.

We both we both have our affinity for Micah and his time here. Um. But just just incredible news out of Buffalo, along with the course that Damar Hamlin has been released from the hospital and now gets to continue his rehab at home. Yeah, and DeMar Hamlin, certainly, we continue to think about him and send positive vibes his way, but you kind of forget that. I mean, Mica had a pretty bad neck injury too earlier this year. That was kind of the original wake up called. The Bills

have taken so many hits at the safety position. Player has been playing through some stuff too, so we'll see if he plays or not. I don't know how that's gonna work out. But but the fact that I was worried when that injury happened Mica was gonna be done done. So I mean to even have them potentially come back

my season, that's pretty incredible. Well, the Giants and the Vikings, they played a back and forth down to the wire game on Christmas Eve one that we were watching on our little TV screens on the flight to uh on the flight to Miami came down to that sixty one yard yield goal by Greg Joseph at the wire for

the Vikings to win it. Yeah, it's it's hard to it's hard to think of this, you know, rematch and being so soon after after the first matchup, um being really much different this This just feels to me like a back and forth game that's that's probably gonna come down to the last possession. And I think it's gonna come down to Daniel Jones too. If he protects the football, I think the Giants have a really good shot in this one. If he doesn't, if if Minnesota's defense makes plays,

it's gonna be a tough, tough afternoon. Um. Here, the thing that this kind of dovetailing is something I don't want to talk about because we don't have the time to talk about it. But probably one of my main criticisms with the seventeen games schedule now, um is the fact that we're getting a lot of these rematches and some of them were just played right and then and the next one. Baltimore and Cincinnati just played last week

their division rivals. Um division rivals, and of course you know Week eighteen or you know, regular season finales for a long time now have been division games. And so then if the playoff seating works out where you have a division champ in a wild card and you know they end up meeting again right away. Yeah, and and like Dallas and Tampa, even though they're not the same division, it feels like they've played each other forty eight times

the last two seasons. Uh. Again, I don't want to turn into that kind of debate, but that that is my only thing. I remember when you know, when you had the twelve team won, you'd get some really interesting matchups. You'd get the Packers in Philadelphia that you didn't see every day, You'd get Packers in Atlanta. So that's the one downside of this. But um, all that being said, Uh, certainly for the Minnesota Vikings feeling a little bit better about themselves after the Bears win, I got to see

what they can do against the Giants. Yeah, Baltimore and Cincinnati, it's hard. I mean, the news is not sounding good for Lamar Jackson being able to come back. And while Tyler Huntley is is probably one of the better, if not the best, backup quarterback, especially with the scheme in yeah, in you know, in the league, he's you know, Baltimore.

Baltimore is going to be in this game. But but for all the attention that's been on Buffalo and Kansas City and the f C, and rightfully so, Cincinnati has been playing some pretty darn good football down the stretch. And I think the Bengals are going to be a really really tough out in the a f C. And and if the if the Ravens don't have Lamar Jackson, um, I think, uh, it's hard for me to see the Bengals losing that game. Ravens got to stop the run.

If they stopped the run, uh and not and not allow them to kind of just get into their type of offense, they have a chance. If you see Joe Mixon going off a little bit here, that's when then you know, Chase stuff starts to happen. That's when the higg And stuff starts to happen. Yeah, Monday Night, Dallas

at Tampa Bay. Um, you know, a few weeks ago, this is what was looking like was going to be you know, the five, the five versus four matchup, and and it looked like, you know, Dallas would be, um, you know, would would be everybody's picked to win. I'm not so sure anymore. I mean, I still think the Cowboys are going to win this game, but but that that Dallas defense didn't look so good against Gardner Minshew when he took over for Jalen Hurts. And you know

that the game against Philly a few weeks ago. And then I don't know what to make of Dallas's performance last week. I mean, were they really trying to win that game? They were playing their guys, but yet you look at you look at how that game went, and Washington was playing Sam Howell at quarterback. I don't know what to make of the Cowboys right now. I just don't. And and and maybe, um, maybe you know, maybe I should just say, you know what, it's the postseason. Everybody's

zero and zero move forward. But um, you know what's your saying is valid. You can't go half measuring these things. I think I learned that last year with Detroit and Green Bay. Either you're playing or you're not playing. Just figure that part of it out. To me, that looked like a Cowboys team that knew they had nothing to

play for in that game, didn't want to maybe get hurt. Yeah, they kind of knew that Philly was gonna win and win the division because the Giants were resting their guys because the Giants were locked into the sixth seeds, so they it was like, yeah, they assumed, they assumed that Philly was going to win, so they were going to be the five seed. But yet they were still playing their guys, and like you say, either either you play or you don't play right, and and that whole that

whole situation was just strange. The problem for Tampa's I think it's a really difficult matchup to for them, just with you know, the fact that they can't run the ball at all. Tom Brady had the quietest yard passing year I think maybe the match Shobby or in Houston. I mean, I don't remember a year like this. Word wait, he threw for almost yards. But I just feel like, if you neutralize those weapons outside, even as bad as Dallas played last week, you should still win this game. Yeah,

I would think. So. I'm not saying they will, I'm just saying they should last thing before we go. Who do you think? What's your Super Bowl matchup? Who? Against whom? There you got? All right? I've gone back and forth on Buffalo, but I really feel like the Hamlin thing is going to push them forward. I feel like they've learned some stuff offensively. I'm gonna I'm gonna go with I'm gonna go with the Eagles and the and the Bills. I think the Eagles are best team in a a

imperfect NFC. And if Jalen Hurts puts the shoulder behind him, if he really is okay in that regard, I just think that they have enough weapons to kind of there's like a lot of gnats right in the NFC just kind of kind of swapped them all away. If you do that, you'll be fine. Um. I think that's probably the matchup. My matchup is gonna be is Buffalo and San Francisco. I said weeks ago that I thought the forty Niners were were the best team in the NFC.

They're playing like it, and it doesn't seem like a whole lot has changed, even with brock Party taking over at quarterback. The Eagles getting jail and Hurts back certainly makes me pause. But I'm just not sold on I'm just not sold on Philadelphia's defense based on what I saw against the Packers, based on what I saw against the Cowboys. So I'm gonna go with San Francisco, even with the rookie seventh round pick, the whole Mr. Irrelevant thing. At quarterback, I think the Niners. I think it's a

Niners and Bills in the Super Bowl. If you are picking the Niners to make the Super Bowl, I'm going to throw you with an extra question. They make the super Bowl, maybe even they win the Super Bowl, as Brock pretty then you're starting quarterback moving forward. Probably not. Yeah, it's it's a Nick Foles, it's a Jeff Hostetler. I know that's probably too young. You weren't able to watch that Super Bowl? Were you? Weren't You weren't. No, but

I had processed trading cards. Okay, But yes, I think I to answer to answer your question, I think I think it becomes one of those types of situations. I don't think they just turn the keys over to Brock Porter. How long that Leasha is next year for Trey Lanswering? Yeah, no, it that that's that's a valid question. Very valid question. All right, it has been fun. With that, we will sign off on this edition of Packers unscripted, and actually

we will be signing off somewhat indefinitely. We're calling this our our season wrap up here, and just as the show is unscripted, our return will be somewhat unscheduled. It may happen because of breaking news, It may happen because of other events going on. We will just have to see. We're like your in laws. We just so to pop up. Yeah, may during the during the off season, and we may just we may just pop into your computer screens or

into your earbuds at random times. But I want to say thank you to everyone for for watching, for listening all season long. We really appreciate the audience that we have for Wes. I am Mike. Thanks to all of you, and we will see you next time.