Hi, everybody.
Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always by my partner in crime, Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here from our studios at lambeau Field to preview Packers and Panthers. It will be a Sunday noon Central Time kickoff from Charlotte, and Wes will take a look at this Carolina Panthers team, which has had a rough season two and twelve on
the year. But as far as this game goes, the most important thing as far as the Carolina Panthers are concerned, is that they went one to oh last week. They ended a long losing streak, got a win with a last second field goal over a division rival in the Atlanta Falcons in a steady rainstorm down there in North Carolina.
And when you watch the highlights of that game and see how fired up the Carolina Panthers were to chalk up a win, I'm telling you these guys are going to bring everything they've got against the Green Bay Packers on something.
Yeah.
And it was really interesting listening to Keishawn Nixon discussed this because while the Raiders had much more success with
Rich Bassacia as their interim head coach. Keishawn mentioned how that can be an invigorating process for a football team, a rallying cry, if you will, and that's what the Panthers I think are kind of going through right now with I believe it's a Chris Tabor that took Chris Taber, Yeah, yeah, took over now in longtime role, respected special teams coach in the league, taking over after Frank Reich was let go, and watching those post game videos of them in the
locker room. I mean tell you this, Mike, I don't think you could have guessed that that team was two and twelve. I think a lot of people have been like, wow, that's that was a win that keeps them in the playoff hunt. There's no replacement for victory in this league. And the Carolina Panthers they.
Are what they are.
I mean, Bryce Young has had a really rough rookie season. They're ranked thirtieth in offense. But on any given Sunday, any of these teams are good enough to win, and the Packers can't take it for granted.
Well, the biggest thing that the biggest things that stand out with regard to the Panthers offense. You mentioned Bryce Young. He's the number one overall pick in the draft. He's the guy that the Carolina Panthers are going to be building around, and we'll see what happens as far as the coaching decisions they make for next year, since they moved on from Frank rag before his first season was even over. At running back, Chewba Hubbard, He's got nearly
a thousand combined yards rushing and receiving. He's over nine hundred when you combine the runs and the catches and the old veteran guy the Packers are very familiar with in Adam Thielen, who don't look now, but on a team that obviously has struggled offensively, eighty nine catches, eight hundred and seventy yards, four touchdowns, he's as productive as ever. And I mentioned this inn Insider inbox. If there's a couple things that if there's a couple things that I
am on high alert for. As far as the Packers defense is concerned going into this game, it's Bryce Young's running ability, which could involve the zone read plays, especially with what Tommy DeVito did to the Packers defense on the Monday night game against the Giants where a couple of zone read plays and he gained you know, forty fifty yards combined on those two. And then Adam Thielen on third downs. You have to know where that guy is because he will find an opening at the sticks
and count on his quarterback to deliver the ball. And Adam Thielen is a guy who can just make it difficult for your defense to get off the field.
I think that was the old Toby Keith line right about how I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm good once I'll ever as I've ever been. Yeah, Adam Thielen, I think you know they made a big decision this year with the Vikings letting him go. And if I remember correctly memory serves, I don't think the Carolina Panthers wasted much time picking them up.
Yeah.
And when you look at the construct of this offense and what they were looking to achieve from the beginning, it was giving your young quarterback and option in the middle of the field one of the best, most viable slot receivers and dependable guys that you're going to look for in Adam Thielen. And I think he's met that criteria. He's on his way to a thousand yard season for them, which is impressive considering the issues they've had passing the
ball this year. And again, I'm if I'm this offensive coaching staff for Carolina, I'm putting on the film from these last two games and telling my guys, it's all out there for you when you look again, like you mentioned with what DeVito did two weeks ago, a lot of trickeration, a lot of Reid option staff, a lot of just scrambled drills turning into leaking runs. And then last week Chris Godwin ten catches one hundred and fifty
five yards. This team, in terms of the construct of it is actually built to match up pretty well with Green Bay.
But for the Packers standpoint to show you the hope is there.
Bryce Young has just really struggled with anything downfield. It has been a pretty rudimentary passing game for them this season.
Yeah, a lot of a lot of a lot of short stuff underneath and a lot of horizontal stuff. Yeah, try to get the ball to his guys in space to make plays. These guys throw, these guys try to stretch you horizontally defensively, and try to find openings up the sideline.
Yeah. And I just look at this matchup for Green Bay defensively, and I don't want to use the word get right here, but this is an opportunity. It's an opportunity to go up against an offense that has had some legitimate problems here. They have not scored more than twenty points since week six when I mentioned Bryce Young, he has not thrown a touchdown pass in more than a month.
Yeah, he did what he had to.
Do to win in that rainstorm last week, but other than that, it has been a real grind for them. Stopping Hubbard, stopping feeling, and probably playing a lot of single high safety in this one would be probably my plan in terms of just making sure that you take away the short stuff and keep them in the third and lungs.
Yeah. And the other thing too, when you're going up against an offense that throws a lot of short stuff, as I said, the underneath stuff, the horizontal stuff. They're trying to get yards after the catch. You got to make tackles. If you allow them to break tackles, if you're not sound in your tackling, that is where they will move the chains and get the momentum of their
offense going. The other statistic with them that sticks out is fifty four sacks allowed, and for the most part, it seems that and I think this is a big reason that Bryce Young has had so many struggles is a lot of that pressure is up the middle. The interior of their offensive line is probably their biggest weakness there. And you know this, so this is a game that
just screams Kenny Clark all over the place. I mean, Clark, who's coming off of a you know what, was a tremendous effort, an absolutely tremendous effort against the Buccaneers, even though overall the Packers defense obviously did not play well. But Kenny Clark was a force in the middle of the defense for the Packers last week, and I think he's going to be a guy that will show up big this week.
Well, Nash Jensen is They're starting right guard right now. He's an undrafted rookie, has been in there the last couple of games.
There's going to be opportunities there.
And I think green Bay, coming off the five sack performance last week. Pressure and coverage are always married. They're always tied together, hand in hand. But especially with what happened two weeks ago against DeVito, this would be the one where I think the extra emphasis is placed on the rush lanes, on your gap integrity, making sure that you finish to the ball, and realistically, I think it
comes down to both sides of it. We'll talk about the defense here in a second, but the Packers and Panthers both got their franchise pass rusher in that twenty nineteen draft. For the Panthers it was Brian Burns. For the Packers it was Rashan Gary. Rashan Gary has kind of been on the precipice of that first ten sacks season. This seems to be a really good opportunity for him to have one of those rashauon Gary games, because, as
we've seen, it doesn't always have to be three sacks. Yeah, but when Rashaan Gary is pressuring the quarterback more often than not, that's led to wins for the Green Bay Packers.
Yeah. Well, you mentioned Brian Burns and shifting gears to the defensive side of the ball for Carolina. He's got six sacks this season, not his best season statistically, but this guy is a pretty darn good pass rusher. As a team, the Panthers have just twenty sacks overall, so Burns has six of those twenty and has certainly drawn a lot of attention from opposing pass protection units as far as the chips and the double teams off the
edge and all that kind of stuff. But I have to ask you to explain something to me.
Yeah, I'd be happy to.
Maybe how in the world is the Carolina Panthers defense ranked third in the league in yards allowed but twenty ninth in the league in points allowed. I don't know if I have ever seen a discrepancy that large, a discrepancy of twenty six ranking spots between the yards allowed and the points allowed. I don't get it, So I need an explanation.
I also need to say this because Dom is is an old not like the senior I should say, not old, but the senior assistant and also one of the proteges. There are mentors forever of their their defensive coordinator. Dom used to always used to say, he's like, you know, a lot of times, you know total defense matters, but you want to the scoring defense is the area you want to win as a defensive coordinator. Unfortunately, for this unit right now, for Carolina. That's where they've been losing.
Now that isn't always completely on a defense. That sometimes could be somewhat of a reflection of them being minus six and turnover differential. Sure, it could be not stepping up into adverse situations, even if maybe you're you're you know, the balls being turned over deep in your territory, not being able to keep teams out of the end zone. The other aspect of it is too, they just have not.
Been good in the red zone this year.
You're not getting those three point plays, you're not getting the takeaways in that area, you're giving up six seven points. I think it's seventy eighty one percent of the time. That's one area where Green Bay has to get after this thing. Because if you look at this defense overall for Carolina, I actually think it's pretty good. They have a lot of veteran players. There, a lot of guys that they had brought in from other teams unrestricted free agents that that kind of signed the peak of their
their value. In addition to the fact that up front, you know, with Burns and Brown there being sort of the faces that aspect of it for him, there's a lot to like about what Caroline is doing there. I think the defensive coordinator is really sharp too. This was put together as like an all star coaching staff with Frank Reich. Offensively, it's been a you know, it's been a grind. But defensively other than those points, again, there's a lot that you can't overlook there because it could hurt you.
Yeah, and their defensive coordinator e j Everro, he actually got his coaching start in the NFL in Green Bay. You said that better than I on Mike McCarthy's staff as a as a quality control with Doge. That was with Dom Capers as the defensive coat exactly. I should have looked it up before we turn the cameras on what year?
What year? Uh?
E j Ero arrived in Green Bay and he wasn't here for very long, and you know he he moved up the ladder pretty quickly to a coordinator spot in the league. And he's a guy that that uh, you know, is getting a lot of attention for the way his team is playing defense even though they're having a rough season. Because the other stat I wanted to point out, and this is this is the this follows the you know,
the one of the dom Capers mantras is opposing passer rating. Yeah, for all of Carolina's struggles overall and the difficulties in winning games, opposing quarterbacks are only have a eighty eight point five passer rating on the season. That's pretty darn good,
you know. And and so it just it just goes to show that, yes, the Carolina Panthers are two and twelve, but they've they've got some things going for him, and and you know, the Packers, Packers are still going to have to bring everything they've got for this game because because the Panthers are not a pushover despite their record.
This is the funniest thing about this though, because we're talking about discrepancies and what's perplexing about this.
Yes, you're absolutely right about that opposing password.
They only have like eight interceptions though, Yeah, like they're like twenty what is it, twenty tied for twenty fourth in interceptions. Yeah, so it's not like they got a ton of interceptions that are influencing those passes.
Are passer rating. Yeah, so what it What.
It does probably tell you though, is that the completions I haven't been there.
They're forcing teams.
To go the long way at times, and probably when they've ruptured, they've ruptured badly. But a game like last week in the trenches in the rain, they took advantage of it and obviously got a big takeaway from Desmond ritterd that helped them win that football game.
All right, Well, I want to solidify the keys to victory here in just a moment, West, but I'll take care of some sponsor business. First. 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 curds, 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, we've obviously hinted suggested at a couple of things already keys to victory here for the Packers to leave Charlotte with their seventh victory of the season.
What do you got Why did the Panthers win last week?
They played really good defense and then they put together a clutch drive at the end of the game.
And Hubbard was a consistent force throughout that game. Where Atlanta could not run the ball, Hubbard had twenty some economical carries for eighty some economical yards and was able to help them push things. The best friends of Bryce Young in this offense has been Hubbard for as much as they've tried to replace him, because you gotta remember, he kind of came out and it emerged after the Christian McCaffrey injuries, and they've kind of tried to find other franchise backs.
This is the back. This is the guy. It's almost like.
You're Edgar Bennett type running back, where I don't know how many thousand yard seasons he'll have in his career, but he is a guy that is going to be when you're winning, when you're moving the ball, he's the one that's helping you do that and then stopping Adam Thielen, not letting the ruptures happen in the middle of the field, making sure that you win on third down Situationally, Mike, there's a lot of times where you'll ask me these
questions and rightfully so about Hey, the keys to victory basically not trying to be over dramatic, but do everything better than what you did against Tampa Bay one specific area. It's making sure that you can across the board fix some of these gaffes that happened. Because, let's be honest, Mike,
the Packers lose this game, the playoff hopes are dwindling. Yeah, they expect to win it and try to get on a three game run here, and you need to build momentum in this matchup as you look forward then to Minnesota and beyond.
Yeah, no question about it. And my keys to victory for this one, I don't. I don't want to oversimplify, but I have to confess my key to victory. Keys to victory last week were to protect the football and to force Baker Mayfield into a mistake. Well, the Packers didn't turn the ball over till very late in the fourth quarter, and they got a strip sack of Baker Mayfield early in the game and ended up not really mattering in the long run. So shows what I know
as far as this keys to victory stuff. But what I'm gonna say with that, what's d Can I.
Say something in your defense?
Sure? The seven completions for one hundred and forty seven yards on third down, like you're absolutely right. Everything you said was right. But when you give up explosives, we know how explos also plays translate to points. Yeah, and that's where Tampa Bay beat them.
Yeah. Absolutely an For me in this game, I think it's all about and this goes really for both sides of the ball. It's all about the Packers playing with a lead, because if you look at if you look at what has been successful, why were the Packers able to beat the Lions and the Chiefs, It's because they jumped on top by multiple scores, and the offense looked sharper and in command of the game, and the defense just had a different swagger to it when they were
playing with the lead. And I think though, I think that's really what this game comes down to. It sounds like the weather is going to be a little bit better in Charlotte than it was last week, so hopefully that boats well. Yeah, hopefully that bodes well for the Packers offense to be able to get off to a fast start and try to build a lead in this game.
I know the Packers had the lead here and there against the Giants and the Monday night game, but that's not the kind of lead, you know, that's not the same kind of lead and command of the game that the Packers had against the Lions and the Chiefs, And I think I think that's the uh. I think that's the formula here for Green Bay. They've had a number of come from behind opportunities offensively throughout the course of the year, and more often than not, it hasn't worked
out that way. Playing playing from behind has not been the formula for success for this team. So I think it's about it's about jumping on top, maybe trying to break Carolina's spirit a little bit because because one thing, they they fought the entire sixty minutes against the Atlanta Falcons, because the Falcons never put more than seven points on the board, you know, the Carolina defense really held strong.
If the Packers can break through that, get a couple of scores on the board and play for more of a commanding position than I think they should leave Charlotte with a victory.
And the most swagger this defense has played with this season is when everything you outline happens. When you think of how they played against Detroit, how they played against Kansas City. In Week one against Chicago, that unit was humming as much as we want to be about pointing fingers and blame and all this type of stuff. The Packers as recently as like fourteen days ago, we're feeling pretty good about where their defense was headed. Was not perfect,
but we're feeling pretty good about it. You take a couple of pops on the chin. Now, the question is how do you respond to that. I love what you said there because I think there is something to be said. I totally understand why mattle Fluor did what he did deferring to the second half in Green Bay. You're in
your own field, I understand that. But there is something about that offense going out on the field, if it would work out that way again, going down the field getting points, and the way the defense has played after that as opposed to responding.
And we have such a large sample size now that fourteen games are in the books, and if I'm not mistaken West, the bottom line is the only time this year that the Packers have lost a game in which they've had a multi score lead was way back Week two in Atlanta. That's the only time when this team has gotten a multi score lead, whether it's you know, whether it's been the Rams, the Lions, the Chiefs. You know, in those games, the Chargers even for that matter, they
haven't let it get away. They've been able to they've been able to win those games. So you mentioned obviously the idea is to get this game, try to get on a run. The Packers have got to win their last three to get to nine to eight, and then see where the chips fall in the playoff picture. Looking at all the different games going on that would impact the Packers' situation as far as the NFC, I'll just rattle them all off and then I'll let you comment on what you desire. The Saints are at the Rams
on Thursday Night football this week. Those are two of the teams that are seven and seven, sitting one game ahead of Green Bay at six and eight. The Falcons, also at six and eight, are at home against the Colts, making yet another quarterback change. Desmond Ritter is being benched for the second time this season. Taylor Heineke is coming in as the new starting quarterback once again. The Lions are at the Vikings. The Vikings are at seven and seven.
The Lions are one win away because they are playing Minnesota. They are one win away from clinching the NFC North title, which I believe would be Detroit's first division championships since the early nineties.
Ninety three, I believe, yeah, thirty.
Years night in nineteen ninety three, the Seahawks who coming off of that big come from behind victory over the Eagles. On Monday night, they are at seven and seven. They are at Tennessee against the Titans and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who just beat the Packers, who are at seven and
seven in the NFC South. They are hosting the one of the Florida Bowls against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and there are questions as to whether Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars quarterback, is going to be available because he's in the concussion protocol. So those are all the ones out there, Wes. I'll let you let you comment on what you do.
You remember that old operation game where you'd like have to like try to pull.
Out like this, yeah, and it buzzes.
That's basically Trevor Lawrence season.
Like just I mean, so much credit to that dude, how much toughness he has, But it just seems like he.
Is a tough cookie man. He really is.
It seems like every week he has a new injury. The other one too, I think is very important. Now, again, the green Bay Packers have take care of business. You don't beat the Caroline Panthers none.
None of the scoreboard watching matters. Quite frankly, if the if the Packers don't put together a three game winning streak here to get to nine and eight, you've got to get to nine and eight.
But let's look on the positive side of this thing. Let's say that's in the cards for green Bay. Let's say that nine win season is out there. Game like this with Baltimore going into San Francisco, that actually has some implications here.
It doesn't want I was gonna I was gonna get to that.
Yeah, yeah, but you.
Know you want the Detroit Lions to have that opportunity to potentially still play for the number one seed in a bye. For whatever freaking reason, the NFL keeps doing this stuff where you have division opponents playing each other over the span of three weeks. And that's what the Detroit Lions are facing. They're gonna go face the Minnesota Vikings and before they can unpack their gear, they're playing
them again. So like, you want that to be out there because you need the Packers to take care business against Minnesota, you need Detroit to take care business Minnesota, and you need to get some help with some of these other teams. But basically my point being with all that is, in a lot of ways, much like last year, there is a path there. You need some stuff to
go your way, but there is a path there. This thing is not without hope, but it takes little small things like the Baltimore Ravens going into San Francisco and taking care of business to keep those other contingencies in place.
Yeah, and I want to get to I want to get to that game on Christmas Night as well, But I want to ask you point blank, do the Lions clinch the NFC North this week?
Yes, all right, if they play the way that they did against the Broncos.
I they were the Lions were. Lions were impressive in that game, no doubt about it. And with you have to go to Minneapolis, it'll be right sure.
And I was gonna say, with all due respect to the Vikings in their home field advantage, and certainly they're amped up for this thing. But while it's not as much of a dire situation as what Atlanta is going through the questions at quarterback from Minnesota. I think at some point you just wonder if they're going to creep up and be a little bit too much to overcome. Maybe Nick Mullins is the guy. Maybe he can find
some rhythm. Maybe he finds that Josh Dobbs magic that Dobbs had earlier this season.
Yeah, they're they're they're they're hoping for they're hoping for three more games of Josh Dobbs magic with Nick Mullins, because obviously Dobbs kind of ran out of time. It started to turn the other way, and uh, and they're they're asking, they're asking Mullins to try to get this thing to the finish line and uh and get them a playoff.
I will say this too, independent of like oh buys and first overall seeds and things like that, I think Detroit just needs to get playing better ball again too. Last week was a big step in the right direction, but we wait and looking so hot before that.
Yeah, being able to get into more rhythm, you.
Know, Jared Goff playing like Jared Goff can again, I think is important. If they can do that against that Minnesota defense, which outside of that end had played pretty darn well this season during this final stretch, you know that that that could be a big boost for the lines as well.
Yeah. Well, and you mentioned too the big game on Christmas Night, which is the one that everybody's going to be watching, Baltimore at San Francisco, the two teams that right now have the number one in the respective conferences. That's a big one. And as you said, as a Packer fan, you would like San Francisco to lose so that Detroit is still potentially fighting to improve their seeding
in the NFC playoffs. The other part of it, too, you'd like San Francisco to lose because as a Packer fan, you want San Francisco still fighting for that number one seed in Week eighteen when they're going to be playing the Rams, and that could be a game. Hopefully it is a game that the Packers are in position where you're looking at that saying, okay, let's, you know, hope the Niners can beat the Rams, because maybe the Packers get on a run here and still have a chance.
So those are the things that are further down the road, but right for right now, all the Packers can do and all they can control is to go to Carolina and get a victory, chalk up win number seven, and then see where things are heading into next week.
And that's why, I mean, there's a lot of things that go on is but like you know, you do paths to the playoffs and things like that. That's why none of that matters right now until Sunday, because if you beat the Panthers, then you can start talking about contingencies. Then you start facing another team that has playoff hopes like you do in the Minnesota Vikings. All those things
come into play. But other than you and I having some fun banter here and I'm sure some sports talk radio hosts enjoying this type of stuff, none of it matters if the Packers don't get off the skid. Yeah, and that has to start. And I believe North Carolina, North Carolina.
Right, Charlotte, Yes, North Carolina.
I've only been there once really, twenty fifteen. I had a kid the other time, that's right.
Yeah.
And then there was COVID I think.
Yeah, that was the time I was standing at the standing at the door to the plane making sure you weren't going to get on it, so that you would be home just in case your wonderful wife went into labor, which low would behold happened.
Dude, not even I'm not trying to make light of this, but I literally I think I remember, if I remember this right, I saw Aaron Rodgers throw's first pick and then we had to go in like we were already at the hospital at that point.
Yeah. I think it's the only time in all the years we've been working together that I made sure to get to the plane before you, because you're always like an early arrival, because I was going to make sure you didn't get on.
The get out of here.
With that, we'll call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team and everything from Sunday's game at Carolina, and we'll have it all for you on Packers dot Com. For Wes, I'm Mike. Thank you for tuning in everybody. Merry Christmas and happy Holidays, and we will see you next time.