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OPE Season 3 Episode 29 Packers Net Dolphins
16 Plays10 hours ago
Aloha and welcome to another episode of OPE! We Give our fresh, stale and moldy takes of the Packers big victory over the Miami Dolphins!
please be sure to like and subscribe wherever you get your favorite podcasts! also be sure to check out our website ohanapackers.org for all of our great articles, past episodes and our merch store!
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction and Technical Glitches
00:00:19
Speaker
Aloha and welcome back to another episode of the hana packers edition podcast the podcast where I again want to strangle my internet provider and joe is sitting here patiently waiting the packers Actually, i'm just sitting here playing a game. I uh with the black friday deals and it was Uh for playstation. I got that jedi survivor for like 25 bucks. So oh nice. I played the first one. So cow, right Yeah, I played the first one too. I I bought that one but I kind of held off on buying this one just because of price, but now it's down. So that's what I'm on now. Good deals. But yeah, while Joe continues to be productive, I've been jumping up and down about my stupid internet, but here we are before it cuts out again.
00:01:07
Speaker
Again,
Packers vs. Dolphins Game Highlights
00:01:08
Speaker
the Packers delivered a happy holiday season opener for us as they beat the Dolphins 30 to 17 in a game where the final score didn't really reflect how these two teams played. The Packers really took the Dolphins up behind the woodshed and for the most of the game and kind of just coasted to the finish line the whole second half. So, Joe,
00:01:32
Speaker
Like I said, face value, how are you feeling about this game overall? Overall, this was probably, I know, and we'll get into it a little bit more with our our different segments, but I know stat wise, it doesn't look great from some perspectives, but overall this had to be one of the most complete games that they've played all season. Yeah, I agree.
00:02:00
Speaker
like it it honestly was about as compliment, you know, when say complimentary football and yeah all that kind of stuff. This was one of their best ones the season, kind of starting from the very beginning. The, you know, the Kishan Nixon gets a good return on the opening kick and Packers go three and out, but then they recover a muffed punt and score touchdown a few plays later.
Player Health Updates
00:02:25
Speaker
So it was honestly, that was kind of a microcosm for the whole game, but
00:02:31
Speaker
packers get out of this one mostly healthy. um We're still waiting to hear an update on Corey Ballantine. It wasn't great seeing how his knee hyper extended when he hit the ground on that opening kickoff. But other than that, it looks like the team really made it out of this one relatively healthy. It it seems like some of the guys um came into the game with question marks, mainly Josh Myers and Isaiah McDuffie made it through without any further our exacerbation of their injuries. And I don't believe outside of Valentine, we saw any others. And so overall, you just got to be happy. You know, we we said it. Green Bay is at the point where
00:03:08
Speaker
Once again, the the the teams playing their the the two division opponents they're chasing have just decided they're not going to try to win games against those two teams. So Green Bay's just got to keep pace. And they did that on Thanksgiving. And they set themselves up for a game that'll matter on this coming Thursday against the Lions.
Packers' Defensive Strategies
00:03:30
Speaker
So Joe, let's just flow into our into our fresh takes while my internet decides to hum freshly. So Joe, fresh cheese. Yes. What was fresh on your mind from this game? Uh, let's go with the obvious one, the pass rush. This pass rush was like almost unstoppable during that game. Uh, you know, I think they've had, what was it? It was two, four, five sacks and
00:04:02
Speaker
That was almost the same total as, as the team as a whole, pretty much it feels like. So ah ah yeah, this pass rush was there. They were, it it looks like they finally simplified things, you know, just do what you know best and get after the quarterback. And that's what they did for the most part. You know, Van Ness had, had a sack.
00:04:28
Speaker
Quay had a sack. Kingsley had a sack. Britton Cox had a sack. Clark had a sack. I was trying to look for QB hits. Rashawn had a QB hit. Robert Rochelle, not ro Robert Rochelle. That looks like about it, but they just seem to be getting after him, after Tua.
00:04:53
Speaker
quite a bit. So, you know, I kind of skied it during the game, you know, during the game, it looks like we finally have a pass rush. And like I said, it looks like they finally just simplified it and said, okay, you guys are good at bull rushing. You guys are going to bull rush. You guys are good at pat at speed rushing. We're going to let you speed rush. So yeah, that's definitely a fresh for this game. Absolutely. And, know there were times in the second half where it seemed like,
00:05:22
Speaker
to ahead time to make throws and stuff like that. But I mean, you look at the stats and it was lops at halftime when the score was 24 to 13. Green Bay was winning the yardage by something like 213 to 121 at the time. And so like you said, Joe, that the end game stats are are crooked. But the reality is while this game was truly in the balance, Green Bay just dominated overall, you know, they just dominated the overall game and yeah you know it's not great that Miami got you know 260 yards in the second half but you're playing the clock at that point as the Packers. I know there was some consternation of whether they should have gone for it on fourth down at one point to try and push it to a four touchdown game but
00:06:13
Speaker
In all honesty, I had no real problem with Lafleur just playing the score in the second half. And the defense, like you said, the defense was a big reason they got there in the first half. That pass rush showed up. No, the Dolphins O-line isn't great by any real measure, but just like we said about that Tennessee game earlier in the season you these are the matchups you want to see this D-line take advantage of and they did that against Tennessee they didn't really against Chicago but we kind of explained the way not explained the way but explained why that's understandable because of
00:06:46
Speaker
that just totally revamped game plan that Chicago came into that game with. And then you look at this game where we said you needed to get pressure because our secondary is a little compromised against this Dolphin's receiver core. And they did, like you said. And they you know five and not just five sacks, but five different guys got sacks today. And I think Rashawn also had like five pressures. the There was another sack that was taken away by one of our, I'm sure it will be of our moldy or one of our not great takes from the game. But yeah, it was great to see that front come alive and to kind of build off of that. It is great that Lucas and Kway both continued to have games that
00:07:34
Speaker
showed that they could be potentially on an upward, ah not just slightly upward, a very upward trajectory from where they've been most of the season.
Player Development and Roles
00:07:43
Speaker
Lucas had another sack, not as explosive as the one as he had against San Fran where he created the Force Bumble, but still important where you know he beach to run Armstead into the backfield sheds a chip block and brings to a down and then Quaysack is I think one of the more impressive places made as a packer it's so it was the fourth down the fourth and goal that you know turn the Dolphins over on downs and what I thought was impressive about the play is
00:08:15
Speaker
Kui didn't start the play rushing the passer. He actually is, he's manned or, you know, zone manned. His responsibility is Anchan, the running back. But the moment he reads that Anchan is staying into block after the run fake, Kui shoots the A gap and just slices through the O line and brings Tua down. And, you know, just like last week against San Fran, it was just more aggressive play There were a few things here and there where maybe he you know took a slightly off angle or could have been a little a step earlier in coverage, but I think overall he was a lot more forceful and aggressive in the run game and in past coverage had a couple moments where you know he was right there and helped take away you know to his initial read and his size and space just allows them to you know plug holes in the middle of the field when he's playing aggressively and.
00:09:12
Speaker
LaFleur and Kwe addressed it directly. you know He said like there's a couple things that you know we had to discuss. you know He's talking about him halfly. And he said he feels the most comfortable in this scheme in terms of what the team wants to do. And it basically, if you read between the lines in what he said, what LaFleur said, it sounds like Kwe was trying to play perfectly when
00:09:42
Speaker
Ben Lafleur's the way that he and Lafleur let on is like all they care about is that he just goes and gives them a thousand percent effort and they'll live with whatever outcome that gives them so really good to see from him really good to see you know the two of us we've said that you know Lucas is building this season there's the scheme change there's a lot that he had to deal with this year but We've both noted that he's had moments this season where you're kind of like, okay, like he had a nice rush here, a nice rush there. It's nice to see these past couple of weeks that those things are paying off, that you're seeing the stats that matter come into effect. So just really good for both of them. Something that, you know, they both need and, you know, it's good to see their efforts rewarded. For sure. And I, you know, you said it, we've we've been talking about it all year where
00:10:33
Speaker
The normal progression for a rookie and draft and develop is first year, you're learning to play football all over again. Cause the NFL is different than NCAA. The second year is where you're going to be in your sophomore slump ish type thing where you're, you're still kind of building, but but you're going to look, you're going to have your moments where you look like you're putting it together in your third year is where you definitely put everything together and you turn.
00:11:00
Speaker
you're either bust or you're, you know, boomer bust is pretty much the way it goes with it. And Lucas is really looking like he's starting to blossom. I i was just kind of looking at some of his things. He's still only playing 39% of the snaps this year on defense, which is up considerable from last year, but it's still not a ton of snaps.
00:11:28
Speaker
So, you know, just looking at it in 12 games this year, he's played 298 snaps on defense last year in 17 games, he played 365. So, you know, there's, I think you're starting to see the more snaps he's able to get out there, the more productive he's being on the field.
00:11:57
Speaker
And that's what you're wanting to see. and And that's why I've always had the big fight with people who want to throw the whole, Oh, well, look what will McDonald's doing with the jets. Yeah. But he's playing a shit ton more snaps than Lucas's with the Packers right now, because he was forced in that position because the jets had nobody else to put it in that position. The Packers are slow burning this build with him. And, and the same kind of thing can go with Quay. I know Quay's in his third year right now.
00:12:28
Speaker
But like you said, and I even said it early on, I think he's overthinking things because he's got the green dot. He's happened to, uh, process things a little bit more than what he was probably having to do in college. So you got to give him a little bit of time with that. I know it, you can't continue to use this too much, but it is his first year in a different system after being in the previous system for two straight years.
00:12:57
Speaker
So maybe it's starting to turn around. I mean, look at last year, it took him, you know, the first half of the season to learn things. And then the second half of the season, he started looking better. Same thing with Lucas. So, you know, you got to give him a little bit of time because coaching change and scheme change. But now that they've had a little bit of patience with it, they are looking better at with things.
Jordan Love's Performance
00:13:23
Speaker
So, and we've said a a lot too, where.
00:13:26
Speaker
You know, they're using edge Cooper in the spot that we hope that they would do with Quay. He's the freakish athlete where you just say, you're going to play with your hair on fire. Just find the ball, hit the guy. You know, don't worry about this. Don't worry about that. Well, that's what they were doing with the edge, but they can't do that with Quay because Quay's got the previous responsibilities. Well, now it looks like.
00:13:52
Speaker
You know, Halfly is just saying, all right, we're going to send you this. We're going to have you do this. And it looks like it's doing better for him. So, ah ah you know, I'm looking forward to see what they do next week.
00:14:04
Speaker
Yeah, big wheat for Quaid next week because the Lions do, you know, just like the Niners did. And realistically, how the Packers do um practice when these two sides face, you know, when the first team faces the first team, a lot of eye candy, a lot of disguise and all that kind of stuff. so The big thing with the player like Quay and for Cooper as well is like you've just got to, you know, you're going to make some mistakes and you've just got to win more than you lose kind of thing and stuff like that. That's the kind of thing you are. You get with these sort of boomer bus quarterbacks or linebackers. So we're seeing it.
00:14:41
Speaker
pay dividends. Like I said, Kui hasn't been perfect, but at least his his positive plays are louder and you know they're they're the talk more than the like, oh, did he go the wrong way or did he sit too long on this play or whatever. You're seeing less of the latter and the more, like I said, if he just plays at with his pet is gas pedal down,
00:15:03
Speaker
he Even if he hits the wrong hole or he goes the wrong way, if he plays up his athletic profile, a 6'4, 240 guy is gonna make offenses go, oh shit, like if he just shoots a gap and penetrates the backfield and like, you know, like as as much as it might be not be the quote unquote right spot, it's that whole thing with like, you know, people were complaining, you know, so there were like football writers that are like, Aaron Donald is screwing up the Rams defense because he gets too much penetration and it's like, like that's the stupidest thing ever. And not saying that Kway is the level that,
00:15:42
Speaker
the level of player that Aaron Donald is but it's the same concept where it's like and similar like I said same thing with edge where it's like you just want those two to create havoc and yes they might miss a few plays because they run the wrong way or hit the wrong gap or something but it's like but if you just are continuously being a pain in the offense's backside, you're going to create more problems for them than you do for your own team. And we're, hopefully this is the sign that Kway is, this is the jumping off point for Kway in that positive direction. But anything else that stood out as extra fresh for you, Joe? Well, I didn't mind what's yours for, for fresh.
00:16:20
Speaker
Okay, so I kind of pig-backed off of you a little bit. My fresh is just gonna be, we got back-to-back good love games and didn't he didn't really have a play that you're kind of like, oh, like that was dangerous or anything. the The only one I can think of is one where like he had the throw to the sideline where it might've been a few inches upfield more than he wanted it to and if the corner had like really, he might've been able to,
00:16:48
Speaker
step into it and like tip the ball or maybe if it was really aggressive like like intercepted but it would have been more of like a gamble by the DB than like a bad throw by Love. I thought overall this was one of his cleanest games. I think he played the score a little bit too but overall I just really liked how Love played today. You saw you know the One of the things you and I talked about in the preview show was, you know, forced Tua to throw in that intermediate range because his arm is not good, especially in conditions, you know, fitting the ball into that 12 to 18 yard window where he's got to get it over a linebacker or some kind of first wave defender and into his receiver before like the
00:17:32
Speaker
DB and back of him could get to it. like you saw too like That was why they turned it over on downs right before the half and the the Packers were able to go score the field goal. saw it on a few other occasions where they ended up having to punt afterward. The Packers almost had a couple interceptions off of plays like that. Whereas Love was able to just put his feet in the ground and just drive the ball you know to all parts of the field. and Really, if you want a nitpick, the the biggest nitpick you can have is like that play at the end of the game that should have drawn a just blatant DPI flag on whatever DP was covering Watson. If he throws that where it should be, which is like a couple yards further, that's a walk-in touchdown for Watson if he catches it. So like like I said, that's the... it was to that point where that was the quote-unquote negative play for love in today in Thursday's game. So you just like to see that as well that he's trending in a positive direction with his play because you know we said if he can just play smart clean football that's going to elevate this offense and two weeks in a row you're seeing it trend in that direction for the Packers and that just bodes really well not just for
00:18:47
Speaker
next week's game in Detroit, but really the rest of the season, because that was always going to be what was going to take the Packers to where they want to go. It was, you know, improvement on defense, but it was on this offense to put up, be you know, to be comfortably putting up 28, 31 points a game. And if love is playing better, it looks like they're trending in that direction.
00:19:09
Speaker
I think you're muted. There were some things with love that you kind of wish would have went different. And there were a couple of things that he had no control over. but overall, yeah, you know, he had another clean game. Like I said, there were a couple passes that probably could end up being intercepted, but you know, whether they were dropped or they, uh, you know,
00:19:34
Speaker
batted down or or whatever so Yeah You can't complain overly too much with what he did that game He did what he needed to do and he went out and I mean he he had a good stat line 21 and 28 for 274 Along of 49 and his rating was 129.2 So yeah, you can't complain too much about it And he got his turkey leg He got two one for this year and one for last year. Well, technically he got a whole damn turkey. Yeah, I know. There was a lot of tur there was a lot of legs on that turkey because there was a turduck in, but yeah.
00:20:14
Speaker
and It's pretty sad that they had to have Leroy go out and cook the whole damn meal for him. I did enjoy the whole like, what happens if they had lost this? Does Leroy just sneak a leg to Jordan in the back kind of thing or whatever? But I'm glad we didn't have to answer that question. So really good to see.
Packers' Defensive Strengths
00:20:36
Speaker
And anything else for you in the fresh? Like I said, it was kind of a, there was an element of this where it was a kind of ho-hum game. Like just the whole team just kind of hummed along in this one.
00:20:50
Speaker
Well, I'm going to, there's, there's two more that I can think of and one's kind of cheating and one is another obvious one. Uh, I think I'm going to go with the cheat one first, in case you're you're thinking of the other one that I am too. And the cheat one is, you know, stacking onto the defensive side of the ball. This is two weeks in a row.
00:21:16
Speaker
that the defense has held the rushing game under like 40 yards. Yeah. And I'm trying to pull it back up here because my fidget is going on. So I keep scrolling up and down and bypass and everything.
00:21:33
Speaker
So yeah, Dolphins had 39 rush yards on 14 attempts. Right, and I think last week the 49ers only had 44 total yards rushing or something like that. Something like that. And Mostert had 19, A-Chain had 14, and Tua had 6.
00:21:53
Speaker
So this is two weeks in a row that they've put together sub 50 yard rushers, uh, you know, defended against these guys. And what was the big concern going into last week? McCaffrey, what was the big concern going into this week? H eight. So, you know, and for them to come out with what they did.
00:22:16
Speaker
It just, yeah, I mean, I'm not going to go in more of it because of the fact that we've already covered a lot of it, but just the way that they're stacking the successes is it gives me a lot of hope for next week.
00:22:29
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And the Niners are probably a little closer to the style of running team that the the dot that the Lions are, where it's a more you know it's a more physical brand. Whereas the Dolphins, or they're kind of more of like ah boom a boomer bust kind of run game, where it's like they'll you know they'll they'll gain like a one or two yards here and there and then they'll hit you for like a 30 yarder kind of thing and stuff and it just overall brings the um GPA up kind of you know it brings the overall rush per carry average up and and
00:23:05
Speaker
What's it called? Jason Garrett but threw some shade at the Dolphins later in the game where he's like, you know, they're they're talented, but they're not a physical team. And you're seeing that that deficiency and toughness and physicality really bite the Dolphins, you know, throughout this game. And I do think that it just kind of like you're saying it it bodes well for the Packers because the Lions kind of have both guys because they have Montgomery who's going to be the physical runner and then they have Gibbs who's kind of like an HN or HA and I forget how to pronounce the last name where he's the guy who's going to try and crease your defense so it's good that obviously you got to prepare for both in one week but it's nice to see that the past two weeks they've dealt with both styles of of rushing attacks and they've really handled either of them pretty well so like you said bodes well moving forward
00:23:56
Speaker
And then yeah, and then for my other point, fresh point, I thought the special teams had a solid
Special Teams and Innovative Plays
00:24:04
Speaker
day. So like we said, Nixon had the big return to open the game. the you know They didn't force the fumble on the punt, but Rochelle and Melton both just destroyed their they're blockers and were both in position to recover that muffed punt.
00:24:23
Speaker
and then Other than that, Miami didn't really do anything with the the with their return game on either kickoffs or punts. And Whelan, the Celtic Cannon, he had a, you know okay, so like the super nerdy punting stats will give him like a 75%. He had three punts inside the 20 and then one touch back.
00:24:50
Speaker
Being totally honest, like punting in the conditions, yeah his punt, it's not like it sailed through the end zone. It like bounced in kind of once. So that's kind of, it it is what it is. And you know, sometimes the oblong ball bounces your way and sometimes it doesn't, but.
00:25:07
Speaker
Wheelid continues to be an absolute weapon for the Packers. And then McManus, three for three in field goals, three for three in extra points. Just a good clean day of operations in that sense. So overall, a good day at the office and please keep it going that way, Bisaccia. Right.
00:25:26
Speaker
oh I'm going to have to see if I can find a video. There's a guy I think either on YouTube or TikTok that is like a punter guru and he like breaks down punters. And I'm kind of interested in seeing this because I swear there was a video I watched him and I can't remember who the punter was that he was talking about, but he found a new way to punt where somehow it knuckles the punt as it's coming down for the returner. And the reason I'm talking about that, and I know the conditions weren't great or whatever,
00:26:06
Speaker
But that punt did something weird. It shifted a foot the last light. like I know what you're talking about because the returner looked like he was settled under it. And then you can tell when it dropped from like from his vantage from the returner's vantage point, when it dropped from about the top of the bowl down to like right above him, you could tell that ball shifted to his right like a full yard. Because then that's one of those where like Like I said, I haven't returned a punt in a game since Pop Warner, but that's one of those, like if you think you've set under that thing and it starts to shift like that, just get away from it because nothing good is going to happen. you know It's kind of similar to what we were I was joking about when in the Vikings game when Addison like just shouldn't have tried to return that one punt and then he ended up like muffing it over his head kind of thing. This was a similar one where it was like,
00:27:01
Speaker
you're past the point of no return just bail and like make sure the thing doesn't bounce up and hit you kind of thing but yeah it like you said it's hard to say if it was definitely the Celtic cannon who did it or if it was the wind or conditions but that thing knuckled out a full like couple feet to the right on the returner and it made really all the difference in what was you know would have been a fair catch and a muff
00:27:25
Speaker
Right. And the reason I mentioned it, I wonder if he's putting a weird Knuckle on it is because like you mentioned the Addison one and then there's been a couple others this year that just seemed to The the returner can't get comfortable Settling on it.
Running Backs' Influence
00:27:41
Speaker
So it makes me wonder if he's able to do some kind of weird knuckle to it And like I said, I'll have to go through and see if I can't find that guy and see if he's done a breakdown on Dan Whelan's The Celtic cannons kicking because if he's figured out how to put some kind of weird knuckle on it, he's, this guy has become, it's weird to have to talk about how your the, your favorite player on a team is a punter. Oh, just, it's refreshing to have a like guys you can count on, on that phase of the the field. So, anything else that you wanted to put in the fresh pile?
00:28:22
Speaker
Well, you did one that I wasn't surprised. i I wasn't ready for because the other one that I thought was obvious was Josh Jacobs. And yeah, I know when you look at your rushing yards, it's not going to look like, you know, 14, 19 attempts, 43 yards. But then you add into that, he added 74 yards receiving and this kid, this guy can move. I mean, he's he's a bigger back. He is, you know, I mean, he's not huge. He's not like a Derek Henry or a ah ah Jerome Bettis or something, but he's still 5 2 2 23 But he moves like Aaron Jones would move. I mean he's shiftier than shifty he he can cut on a dime and You know and he can he and he loves contact we saw that in the Bears game You know where he motion for the guy to actually hit him this one. He juked the guy out of his friggin cleats and
00:29:21
Speaker
It's just this. He's been such a pickup and and I know there's been a strong resurgence of these running backs and I know the teams that they left have to be kicking themselves, but I also have to wonder if the resurgence is because they are on a different team.
00:29:40
Speaker
they're deaf They're all three of those guys are in way better situations than they were on the team that they left because all three of them, Saquon, Derek Henry, and Jacobs, you look at the the but Giants, the Titans, and the Raiders,
00:29:56
Speaker
all have maybe average at best O-lines to subpar O-line situations and then you compound that with their passing game situations and they range from meh to bleh. So and in Jacob's situation it's like his receptions can all be, you know, their, their, their checkdowns. But like, instead of being like the quarterback can't throw it to a guy down the field, like he just physically can't complete a pass past 15 yards or the receivers aren't good enough. It's actually like he's catching the ball in a complete void because the coverage has gone back with the receivers. And so, you know, that, that
00:30:37
Speaker
that juke that he puts on the guys because that linebacker is coming from depth and he's like okay like this you know Jacobs has a head of steam I've got to meet him match physicality and meet him when we make contact and it Jacob's definitely put a little extra mustard on that juke move, but any sort of fake is like, that guy's like, all right, contact is coming in three, two, wo u oh and it's and Jacob's is gone and he ends up looking like, you know, like he tried to tackle the Holy Ghost or something. so
00:31:09
Speaker
And like you said, Jacobs didn't have the rushing success. you know he He muscled those 43 yards out. But I do think he set the table for Reed's 23 yard on run on the jet sweep. Emmanuel Wilson's two carries for 20 yards. And then even Brooks, like it you know that you hear that cliche all the time that it's like,
00:31:34
Speaker
That bell call back who was just pounding and pounding and pounding on a defense and then you know Everyone gears up for the physicality and you know, it's you know It's that right hook right hook right hook and then you know Whether it's Wilson or it's Brooks or read with this jet sweep It's like that, you know that that left-handed cross comes and you're like, oh shit like I'm not ready for that and it you know, it's cliche but that's really what's happening to these defenses is it's like oh like wait something different and so Jacobs is truly setting the table for everyone else in that regard. But yeah, I agree. he He definitely was on the the fresh list as well, and he deserves to be recognized. Because like you said, this is one of those that like if you're talking to someone who only reads the box score, they're like, eh. But sure, he you know he caught the ball, but he didn't rush it well. So you know he's a running back, whatever kind of thing. So good for Jacobs to get his due in that regard. and
00:32:35
Speaker
Yeah, just like I said, this is it's just another way to show like this was just kind of a ho hum win for the Packers where everyone like there wasn't one like totally standout performance.
Team Synergy and Individual Contributions
00:32:47
Speaker
Everyone kind of just did what they're supposed to do. The offense, you know, was aggressive like they didn't just like Uh, they still dictated what they took from the defense, but like, you know, they spread the ball around and, everyone kind of just got what they got. So it was a good game for the offense all around. And then you add in Tucker k craft with that. Cause I think this was another big game for him, you know, uh, six catches, 78 yards. And unfortunately he didn't get his, his weekly touchdown, but you know, we'll take his contributions. So yup.
00:33:26
Speaker
Alright, but let's move it in there. stale. What's the stale shit? What you got? well What's bugging you this week? Okay, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna put it as a stale just because he kind of redeemed himself later on in the game. But Dontavian Wix.
00:33:50
Speaker
That pass that he dropped was an egregious drop. It hit him right in the arms. He was practically wide open. Who knows how long he would have been running after catching it. But I mean, it was right there. It hit him in the, the elbow.
00:34:13
Speaker
I got to go with that as a steal. Luckily, Watson was on Johnny on the spot to break that thing up because that was a pick waiting to happen right there. So yeah, yeah I agree. it's you know Like you said, Watson did you know he had a couple kind of important catches later in the game, but that one was going to be a solid one. and You know, I see people ready to like write off why, you know, Dobbs, you know, like, oh, they look at all the success they had without him. But that play, you had the third down to read in the second half where it's kind of like, yeah, that's probably Dobbs making that catch and stuff. And, you know, it it just shows like who's settled into the role. And like you said, like, you can see the talent with Wix, but he's got to catch the ball. You can't like you said,
00:35:02
Speaker
Jordan couldn't have handed him that ball any better than he threw it on that play. Yeah. And I mean, that was, that's basically a schoolyard play where, you know, he's right there coming across the middle with nobody coming at him. And yeah, it it was not, it should not have been a drop. but And like you said, Watson made a hell of a play to keep it from being an interception.
00:35:30
Speaker
It sucks that the defender kind of got hurt on that play just because of how physical Watson got with that. by yeah you And like I said, that's the only thing that's keeping it stale is that he did go on for another four catches for 30 yards on five targets. so Yeah, had that been his lone attempt, he would definitely be a moldy this week.
Issues with Offside Penalties
00:35:57
Speaker
Yeah, and so gotta to clean that up if you're Wix. And we know he has the talent too, so just gotta... Hopefully though Dobbs is back this week, not not to like just be like, ugh, so we don't deal with Wix, but...
00:36:10
Speaker
just so that everyone's kind of in the roles that fit them best and stuff. But, and then they said he was practicing this week. I think the floor said in his presser that he was still in the protocol, but he was, yeah, there was one of those or whatever.
00:36:26
Speaker
yeah it it was one of those where he kind of the way he let on it was like if it was a sunday game he probably makes it through kind of thing but because it's uh it was a short week there was almost no way for him to make it kind of thing so you know it's promising but you know hopefully we'll see dobs out there just because of what he like I said not to not to pile on Wix but just because of what like I said even that other play later in the you know where Reed is on the inside slant and you know there's nothing Reed does wrong on that play it's just that he's a smaller you know Dobbs is three inches taller and just stockier than Reed so he just naturally box his defenders out better so
00:37:04
Speaker
Like I said, different roles, different guys. And then my steal for the week. I really battled with which way to put go on this one. And it kind of is similar to Wix where because of the production you got on the other side of it, I'm like, okay, I understand. But it's the it's lining up offsides so often in this game. Like I said,
00:37:30
Speaker
It cost Roshan at least half a sack. I don't think he would have been awarded a full sack on that play, but he was offside. He had an Iqbari lining up offside. He had, I forget who else, oh, a Slayton jumping offside on the field goal. Luckily, it ended up just being another field goal in that drive. But, you know, it was a 48-yarder in the conditions, and maybe Miami, you know, so maybe they they maybe they they pooch it kind of thing and stuff. So, know, it costs you like 20 yards of fuel position there. so
00:38:03
Speaker
You know, did we kind of, we, the two of us, we've kind of talked about whether like they're pushing the envelope on purpose to be like, let's see, you know, how close we can get, you know, the the closer we are to the line of scrimmage, the closer you are to making a play and that whole mentality. But you heard LaFleur after the game, he's kind of like, all right, let's stop with the bullshit. Let's clean, we got, we got to clean this up because we gave away so many plays, so many yards on that, you know, in those kinds of situations. so
00:38:33
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's luckily this week it was more of an annoying thing But it's one of those ones where it's like, okay Like the Dolphins they they were winners of five or six and all that kind of stuff But you're about to face the best team in your conference one or one a depending on how you feel against the Lions against you know versus the Eagles and You just can't be giving up freebies. You can't be negating big plays on defense because someone was just lined up like an idiot and stuff. You you can hear the floor. like Like I said, it might have been something where Halfly and his guys were like, let's see if we can push the envelope. But I get the feeling that the floor is kind of just bang on the the defensive meeting room and be like, no more of that bullshit. Like, line up normal. less Let's just play clean again, guys.
Pass Defense Concerns
00:39:24
Speaker
Yeah. And we've, like you said, we've talked about it.
00:39:27
Speaker
it Over and over and over again that you know, we think they're trying to cheat the system But when you're cheating the system, you've got to at least Be aware of where you're at You know, it's not that hard to realize where the fucking balls at when you're lining up on the line So yeah, there's not much more I can add to that because it we've talked about it constantly and You know It is what it is. It's something that they got to fix. Yeah. If it goes another week, it's definitely going in the moldy. But like I said, it's like it almost is this week, but.
00:40:06
Speaker
they had all the production they did from the front and it's hard to quantify like is it because they're towing the line or is it just they're just playing better and if it is the latter it's like okay then fine like stop towing the line like if you're just doing better you don't need to do that anymore so yeah the just just tighten the screws a little bit you guys so i've got one but it's it's kind of a It's kind of a leaner just because I understand the whole situation, if that's what you want to call it. And I understand there's not much they could have done about it, but I still think it's a solid stale take and that's allowing 365 passing yards.
00:40:59
Speaker
and i And I know what you're going to say. Well, you know, it was a junk yardage as they were trying to come back. I get that. But with what the defense was doing for the majority of the game, you you thought they would have been able to defend that a lot better. And I know it didn't really hurt him in the long run. The Packers still beat him by a good 13 points. So it wasn't that devastating.
00:41:25
Speaker
But when you're talking about complete games, you would love to see a complete defensive shutdown. You know, don't allow enough, you know, all these passing yards, don't allow all these rushing yards. Just take them completely out of the game.
00:41:45
Speaker
Because you're going to need to do that against teams like Detroit Minnesota Seattle, you know, you're just going to have to take them all ah ah Who else do we got coming up? Do we got Washington coming up? No, it's uh, Detroit Seattle Saints and then Minnesota and Bears. I think that's the order Yeah. Detroit, Seattle saints Vikings bears. So you know, you're at least going to have to do that with Detroit and Minnesota. Seattle is Seattle and it's hard to gauge them right now, but you know, it needs to be one of those where you just completely shut down a team to give yourself a boost, you know, to
00:42:34
Speaker
just fucking say, all right, this is the type of team we can be. So like I said, I understand all the, the things that can be come back at me, but I just, I would love to see where not only are we shutting down the run, but we're shutting down the past too. And it's not because they were playing badly. I mean, I love the fact that Halfly has to be an Oak listener because if you look at the, uh,
00:43:04
Speaker
Oh, the snaps. It finally started evening out this game. And he did what we, what I said to do a couple of weeks ago. You know, you can't just rely on, you know, two or three guys and call it good. You've got to have a solid rotation going on. So when you look at it, uh, let's see here, Carrington played 49% of the snaps. Stokes played 51% of the staff snaps.
00:43:32
Speaker
Of course she had Kishon playing 100% of the snaps. But and like min McKinney played 100% of the snaps. Bullard was at 93 and. Oh, where's Evan? Evan was at 73%. So they were rotating in the the secondary pretty good and I I think that's great. And like I said, I don't think they were playing that bad. I thought Stokes played very well for the most part. Nixon played very well for the most part. Valentine played very well for the most part.
00:44:06
Speaker
It just, and again, I know it's all junk time as they're trying to make a comeback, but that's still a lot of yards through the air to give up. Yeah. And I agree with you. Like on one hand.
00:44:20
Speaker
you know there the two so like the i don't I didn't like how you know it's seven plays, but I didn't like that the the Dolphins' final touchdown drive only took two minutes. you know the the first touchdown drive, it took them five minutes. So you know you're at least bleeding clock. And then the one that ends on downs, that took six minutes. But I agree with you. It would be nice to get off the field at some point kind of thing. like you know there it's not like you know you you are getting some third in mediums to third in longs it's like it it would be nice to get off at you know like to to shut one of those drives down at some point so i agree with you like while you are playing the scoreboard and stuff you do want to see them still get stops in the second half you know like make it like i said let the scoreboard kind of reflect how the game went like don't let it be you know even where it is a 13 point win
00:45:16
Speaker
Let it still look like a three score win. let it still you'll Let it still be a three score win. The difference between a 17 and a 21, not like a 13 and a 20 point win and stuff. so I agree. like It could be a little better. and it's Those are the nits we are picking this week. but like you said, it's, we say it with the, the forward view of like, looking at what's ahead for the team. Right. Because the guys that gave up the, or I mean, the guys that had the yardage for the dolphins are starting tight end, John who Smith starting receiver, Tyree kill starting receiver, Jalen waddle Hill had 83 John who had 113 Jalen had 53, you know, so that's.
00:46:04
Speaker
You know, against the Lions, what would that be? That would be Laporta, Amun-Ra, and what, Jameson? Yeah, I think so. So, you know, that you got to be mindful of that going forward. Yep.
Officiating and Game Fairness
00:46:22
Speaker
All right. And anything for Moldy this week?
00:46:27
Speaker
It's a moldy cheese. ah Yes. I do have one major moldy thing. You kind of brought it up a little bit earlier, but I'm going to do it as a whole. And I know it didn't hurt the Packers that much, but what is it? And we've do this every week. It seems like these officiating crews, what is going on? 17 total penalties between the dolphins and the Packers this week. And.
00:46:56
Speaker
They missed the most egregious call, like you said, against Watson. That was clear, clear past interference. They've been calling everything else during the game, but at that point they just, we're not going to call this one.
00:47:12
Speaker
yeah someone had a steakhouse reservation to keep because like it it was such a yeah like you said they were calling everything under the sun up to that point and then it's just like yeah we're not gonna call that one so that was sort of like one of those what are we looking at guys the i know i do think and you can kind of see la floor say it like It was almost like, what wasn't good enough on that one? like he He mouthed it with a little bit more colorful language. Yeah, he's basically saying, like you've called everything else. like Why didn't that garner a flag there? So I agree. like It's just so weird how these crews have functioned all season and just go figure, right, at this point.
Conclusion and Future Games
00:48:05
Speaker
I don't have the only thing I can, the only thing I can think of is, and it's kind of a conspiracy theory a little bit, but I've also said it about baseball. I'm wondering if these reffing and umpire and crews are kind of rebelling because there is a lot of automation coming into their job. And I'm wondering if they're saying, well, if that's how you want to do it, then we're just going to do this.
00:48:34
Speaker
And if that's how you want to do it, then we're just going to do this because you see it a lot in baseball and you see it a lot in in football right now where it just, it's continuous. You know, they're going to call all these plays, but none of them can be reviewed. So it's kind of like nana, nana, nana, nana. You can't review this. We're going to call it against you. You know, type of thing. Yeah. So go figure it's one of those, but.
00:49:03
Speaker
I really don't have anything too moldy for this one. Like I said, not much to complain about in this game anyway. Nothing to be super critical of. Just a good complementary football game for the Packers, but that's all you got for today. We can put a nice bow on this one and just go on into the weekend. The only thing I want to kind of mention is what was with the Dolphins being as chippy as they were?
00:49:30
Speaker
I have no idea that's a good question yeah that that came you know it's not like one of those preseason games where you're practicing together it really just yeah like on the second drive of the game they were trying to like start some shit and stuff and I don't understand where that came from yeah like it's not like there's any history we don't play these guys very often and none of these guys really came from NFC teams and stuff so yeah I'm at a loss for words there So I guess that would be a moldy for me, but I just, I don't get where the chippiness came from or the animosity. And it was really before the Packers were even starting to dominate the game. And I don't get it.
00:50:14
Speaker
Yeah, i don't I don't either. But like I said, the most important thing is, at like you said, you know, with how this game, you kind of almost wanted it to just be over at halftime because you're like, OK, like only bad things can happen here for the Packers. Like, there you know, just let this game end and let's go to next week into the Detroit game. And like I said, luckily, it seems like they made it out of there without any more like massive injuries. You know, like I said, we just hope Valentine is OK. And
00:50:45
Speaker
And yeah, we will just, like I said, we will just put our focus on Detroit, you know, as McCarthy would kind of say, you know, as one of his old cliches, ah we're on to Detroit. So thank you for joining us. We hope you had a good Thanksgiving. Please check out our website, ohanapackers.org. please support our Please support the channel, buy merch, get our different help out our different causes, troop support, cancer awareness. Those drives are still going on.
00:51:18
Speaker
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00:51:36
Speaker
and positive or negative comments we want to hear them all so we're creating the content you're looking for. The Packers are 9-3 they look to score a big division win next week against the Lions. We'll have our opponent preview for you that that'll come out the day of the game but for Iowa Joe I might go pack go and a low