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Packers vs Bears Wild Card Loss | Green Bay Playoff Collapse in Chicago
42 Plays19 days ago
The Green Bay Packers’ season ends with a Wild Card playoff loss to the Chicago Bears in Chicago.
In this episode, we break down the Packers vs Bears Wild Card game, focusing on what went wrong in Green Bay’s playoff collapse on the road. From coaching decisions and missed opportunities to players who failed to deliver in a must-win playoff game, we cover the biggest reasons the Packers were eliminated.
We also discuss what this loss means for the future of the Packers, how damaging a playoff loss to the Bears really is, and where the team goes from here after a season that ended in frustration.
A raw, honest reaction from Packers fans after one of the most painful playoff losses in recent memory.
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Transcript
Intro
Season Overview and LaFleur's Challenges
00:00:21
Speaker
Aloha and welcome back to the Ohana Packers Edition podcast, the podcast where the Packers 2025 season is officially over. Age 27, storybook, whatever historical repeats, none of it mattered in the end as the Packers, just like they had the last four weeks, go out sad trombone fart style against the Bears in the playoffs in...
00:00:43
Speaker
A veritable repeat of every one of LaFleur's playoff games, in all honesty. And Iowa Joe and went into it. the Dallas one a few years ago. And even that, there were some, you know, letting go of the rope too soon
LaFleur's Play Calling and Game Management
00:00:57
Speaker
kind of stuff. But, you know, we'll get into that a little bit as we get into our review of the game. But, Joe...
00:01:05
Speaker
kind of I've seen a few people say it, but that was almost a fitting way for this season to end. you know I know people had hopes that it would go differently, but especially from the point of inflection of the the Parsons injury, this team has just kind of death-spiraled itself in every subsequent game. and It just makes you shake your head, but also I can't say I'm really surprised that it happened, honestly.
00:01:33
Speaker
I said it on social media and I don't know if it was a knee jerk reaction or if I'm actually sitting at that moment right now, but basically said, i think I'm at the point where I would be okay moving on from the floor.
00:01:49
Speaker
And that's not an easy decision to make by any means because i think he is a good coach i really do i just think he he doesn't have something now whether that's like we've talked about before having that raw raw guy like a dan campbell or something with him to help motivate a little bit more or if You know, he needs a better OC to help him game plan a little bit more. But it always seems like he how do I want put this? It always seems like he can come up with good game plans.
00:02:33
Speaker
But then somewhere in the middle of the game or at a certain point in the game, it just like, we've We've done enough with the game plan. let you know Let's just do this. Now, is that a Jordan thing? Is Jordan not getting comfortable or is getting complacent and in some of his decisions? Is it LeFleur just throwing his hands up? but I don't know. Maybe he thought because he was up 21-3 or whatever, hey, maybe Stinovich can start calling plays because that really looked like a Stinovich –
00:03:07
Speaker
play calling in the second half with what we've been dealing with in preseason when he gives Stinovich the the play calls. Is that a possibility? I don't know. I really don't know because like you said, this is something that we've kind of gotten used to seeing out of a Matt LaFleur team. But then you sit there and watch some of the games that they go. yeah That first first half was complete dominance.
00:03:35
Speaker
So what happened after that? And you can't tell me, oh, well, the Bears just let them have it. No, the Bears were getting their asses handed to them. And just something after that, especially when they put up, they allowed 25 friggin' points in the fourth quarter alone. Up to that, the Bears had only scored six points.
00:03:56
Speaker
Yep. So I don't know. I'm... i'm okay I think I would be okay if there's a plan in place or if if policy says, okay, well, even though I said I really don't want a lame duck coach, we're going to let LaFleur play out, your coach out his contract, and then we'll start fresh after that.
Coaching Rumors and Speculation
00:04:21
Speaker
I know I joked about it early on in the – or about halfway through the season when the whole – I think it was after Domofsky was on the show that I started joking, well, you know, they'll get rid of LeFleur and let Halfley take the head coaching gig. That way we can keep Halfley in Green Bay.
00:04:44
Speaker
And, you know, I don't know, maybe that's a possibility. I know the big talk right now is – We got to go get John Harbaugh. We got to get John Harbaugh. And I know I'm not really, I don't know. Yeah, he's got the, he's got the oh what you want to call it? He's got the background, but he's also put up a lot of stinkers down in Baltimore.
00:05:13
Speaker
So I'm not sold on that one. Yeah, we can dive into that as you know, if that that comes into fruition.
Quarterback Performance: Jordan Love
00:05:21
Speaker
But my whole thing with it is like, I think I think they've seen the best that's going to come with LeFleur at the helm. And, you know, I know one of the the things was like, oh, if this team gets MVP level play from love,
00:05:36
Speaker
Well, they did. And LeFleur, you know, the reason Love isn't a serious MVP candidate is he doesn't have the the counting stats or the rates. You know, he's his rate stats are good, but his overall traditional counting stats aren't good enough.
00:05:50
Speaker
And that's a function of how LeFleur calls his game, the slow-ass tempo his offense operates at, and... There's a lot of nuance that occurred between the first and second half. Like you said, you know, we can, you can, we won't, we won't belabor the point much more, but there was a substantial difference in from the first half to the second half of the offense. And we'll get into it as we get into the segments, but so much of it does in my opinion, fall at LaFleur's feet.
00:06:21
Speaker
And it's a big reason why I'm, I'm fully over it. Like,
00:06:25
Speaker
it really did harken back to your joke that he coaches every game like he has a quota of points that he can pull from. And someone on Twitter responded to one of my posts about it and he goes, that's right. And he goes, and it's, he likened it to how certain NFL coaches play coach like and mlb managers manage where it's like yeah let me get to my top relief arms and then just ice you know we can play sabermetrics at sabermetrics analytics you know 101 and just nuke the game away that way and you can't do that in the nfl but
00:07:04
Speaker
hit the button let's get into the segments and let's i just want to throw this out there it was anthony nash that you were having that conversation with so we can give proper credit to pro the proper people god it's been so long since i hit the buttons i had to remember which one i'm in fresh cheese uh i'll let you go first normally i go first but the the very easy cheat would be to just say the first half of the game but you know the the real The real shitty thing about it is Jordan should have won. like That should have been a win for Jordan. There are a couple incidents you know over the course of the game where it's like, yeah, he probably should have taken off and run on that one third and two in the second half. And
00:07:49
Speaker
If that throw to Musgrave is a little better in the end zone on the second to last drive, they probably do get it. They should have gotten a DPI flag either way. But if that throw is like a foot closer to Musgrave, they get a DPI on that and they have fresh downs on the one yard line.
00:08:06
Speaker
Well, you can play the whatevs all you want on that one, you know. But but regardless... That was an excellent game for No, I get it. I just mean with the Musgrave one, you know, Musgrave could have played back, you know, came back for it a little bit more. So that one's hard to do because you can play that one all day long. Yeah, but you just look at it from the standpoint of what he did put up statistically on the game.
00:08:31
Speaker
He had them in position to go up two scores. He put them in position to have seven more points on the board.
00:08:41
Speaker
Mike froze right in the middle of his thought.
00:08:45
Speaker
Mike's thought was so hot that it kicked him off. No. So the the big thing there is just that it's jordan Jordan deserved a much better outcome to this game. you know We'll go into the O-line just not playing up to par in the second half. LeFleur just completely losing his mind in terms of his play calling and in in the second half.
00:09:11
Speaker
But Jordan...
Rookie Utilization and Player Growth
00:09:13
Speaker
There should have been at minimum 34 points on the board for the Packers. And the other side of it is that if a certain other couple people were good at their job, they should have been in position to just kick a field goal to win the game at the end. And it would have been a disappointing playoff win, but it would have been a playoff win. And...
00:09:34
Speaker
Jordan, after we had our concerns with how he was going to look coming into this game, he was awesome. The whole first half, he was picking apart Chicago. Yeah, he and the offense struggled in the third quarter and parts of the fourth, but he put together that drive to go up 27, should have been 28 to 16, but go 27 to 16, puts up drive right after Chicago takes the puts up a drive right after chicago takes the lead to Or honestly, puts up puts a drive up 27 to 24 that should have ended in points.
00:10:07
Speaker
And then puts a drive together at the end of the game that had an opportunity to win the game. And like I said, if certain other people had done their frigging jobs, they would have been kicking a field goal for the win or kneeling out the clock to win the game.
00:10:19
Speaker
and it's just It's just an ultimate shame that you know this go you know Jordan's playoff record is 1-3 now. It's the whole adage of it's a team game. you know Wins arent shouldn't be a quarterback stat and all that kind of stuff. but you know and Of course, rival fans are going to laugh and say, Jordan doesn't have it. you know he He didn't make the plays when it mattered and yada, yada, and all that kind of crap. and Caleb's the comeback king and stuff like that. but Jordan can't catch the ball for people. he can't make kicks for other people. He can't block for himself.
00:10:56
Speaker
He can't make his coach not... Honestly, not stupid. at the In multiple regards. And yeah, Jordan was the best thing in this game, honestly.
00:11:08
Speaker
One of them. I will give him and credit for one of them because you got the other guy on the I'll talk about him. He'll be my fresh here in a minute. But yeah, Jordan played a hell of a game for the most part. I mean, you did see him try to hero ball it a couple of times and yeah, and stuff like that. But it's like, OK, Jordan, you could have done it this way. But, you know, hey, whatever.
00:11:30
Speaker
But I also like like i was saying with the whole the floor thing, It goes hand in hand with each other because if LeFleur has given him the okay to you know,
00:11:43
Speaker
audible to whatever he wants to when he's out on the field. We don't know what the play call is and what he's audible to when he's out on the field. So I'll get into that. I'll get into that in the third quarter in in the in the moldy segment because normally I would definitely agree with you or there. But there was a definitive issue I had with how the game was being called, in especially in the third quarter. So no, i yeah I'm not saying don't get me wrong. my I'm not saying all I'm just saying that, you know,
00:12:11
Speaker
It's a two-way street because... No, i agree with I completely agree. But like I said, there was something definitively clear to me that... And that's why this game is unforgivable for LeFleur for me.
00:12:23
Speaker
But Jordan had a heck of a game. He was putting the ball into the spot where it needed to be for the most part. Yeah, some of his receivers should have been a little bit better on certain things.
00:12:35
Speaker
Yeah. but really overall i can't fault him for a lot of it you know like i said no there is no such thing as a perfect quarterback none i don't care you can we can sit here and start naming names off of great quarterbacks but they all have imperfections to them and you know i i can't the only thing that i'm going to go back to is this is why you don't let a quarterback have four straight weeks off before going in into the playoffs because he could have been a little bit crisper on some things he could have been a little bit better on some things
00:13:20
Speaker
But, you know, we're, we're, and I know the big thing is, oh, well, he doesn't have rush to shake off. Look at him do this. But then on the opposite side, you would see him kind of go to that hero ball.
00:13:32
Speaker
And that third down play where he probably should have run. Maybe he runs if he's a little more, like, he did kind of have that, like, where is the guy? but Like, why he he felt pressure that wasn't existing kind of thing. So, yeah, I agree with you there. Like,
00:13:46
Speaker
especially coming off a concussion. Yeah. and and And getting blasted early in the game too. Yeah. and Well, that's something I want to talk about later too. but Yeah. So I'm going to go ahead and jump in mine, and I'm going to throw two of them out here, even though you could probably say the whole group, but Dobbs and Golden.
00:14:07
Speaker
I think this was really Golden's breakout game. the He finally gets his first career touchdown. on on an incredible play because he made that play.
00:14:18
Speaker
yeah you know Jordan dumped it off to him and he fought for everything he could to get that touchdown. Just looking at his stats, four for five for 84 yards and one touchdown with a long of 36. That's the type of player that he can be going forward and more.
00:14:38
Speaker
But that goes back to my problem with this whole season is they haven't been using him and this begs the question why haven't they been using him more i i know you've thrown out there that you and dusty have both thrown out there that you know well he's made some bonehead yeah i get that but he's a he's a rookie we We all know what the three-year standard is for rookies. You know, the first year is they learn how to play in the NFL. The second year is they how how to be a Packer. And then the third year is when they finally make the jump.
00:15:16
Speaker
And I know you're supposed to expedite that a little bit being a first-round pick, but being a rookie in the rookie, you have to expect some of those boneheaded plays once in a while just because – Hey, that's not how they've done it up till now. Think about when you start a new job. You've got to wipe out all that information from all the other jobs you've ever had in your life and learn it how they want you to learn it.
00:15:44
Speaker
That's the same way with him. He's he's learned how to play football from, what, three three four five coaches in his whole life now he's going to learn how they want to do it in the nfl under the green bay packers so you you have to live with the boneheaded plays and to not use him it is is a crying shame and now we see what kind of player he can be going forward It makes it a little bit easier to move on, but not so much when you look at the stats of Dobbs, who went eight for 11, 124 yards and a touchdown.
00:16:22
Speaker
plus He saved Christian Watson's ass on that last one, on on Watson's quote-unquote touchdown or possible touchdown that was went went with some funky-ass ruling that allowed him to take the ball back at the spot of the – that one was weird. So it's hard to move on from Dobbs when you know that's the type of player he can be.
00:16:50
Speaker
The reliable target, the the basically the brains of the operation, because he's always paying attention to shit. Yeah, he had that goof in the Bears game in week, what, 13? 16. With the onside kick.
Defense Analysis and Challenges
00:17:08
Speaker
But you can sit there and argue that they should have never been in that position to have to deal with an onside kick. So... Yeah, it's really looking like it's going to be hard to move on from Dobbs, but in the end, it's all going to be probably what he's going to want.
00:17:26
Speaker
And yeah I know he's probably going end up in like Pittsburgh or some shit like that. and And so, yeah, it's going to be hard, but, you know, it's been great having him here while it has while he has been. If they somehow manage to hang on, I don't know, maybe we could hope that they tag and trade more than letting him walk outright, but I don't see that happening much either. But, I mean, Watson was decent he in certain spots other than his –
00:17:58
Speaker
boneheaded move diving towards the end zone and losing the ball uh he had a few drops to him too three for seven for 36 and one jaden was decent but again he was in the same bad drop at the end yeah yeah four for seven for 43. so so i To be honest, I know Christian has really turned it on since coming back from the injury.
00:18:25
Speaker
But if we could go into the next season with Dobbs and Golden, I think I would feel a much better about the wide receiver core. But that's just my opinion. Yep.
00:18:40
Speaker
And then, you know... As much as we were going pick them apart later, the first half defense was pretty darn good. like The opening drive was a little bit little bit disappointing with how Chicago picked up those first three third downs. But you held them out of the end zone there. got the you got the stop. and Well, honestly, you could argue the first three quarters because they didn't start scoring all their points until the fourth quarter. and And, you know, it looks really bad at the end, but at the same time, they got hung out to dry the whole second half of the game. And, like...
00:19:16
Speaker
It's so hard to draw that line of like, okay, at some point you just got to do your job and stuff. But, you know, the adage like time of possession isn't really a factor until you you let it be one. And LaFleur let it be one by having his offense go like three and out, three out of four drives. And the other one, they only made it like six plays or something like that. So like it the offense did nothing for one and like a half quarters.
00:19:45
Speaker
And... On one hand, it's disappointing to see how 25 points in the quarter is 25 points in a quarter. But when you take it in context, it's understandable how and why it happened because you just racked up too much time on the field and you got so you know basically got screwed by your offense doing nothing for 20 minutes of game film of game time.
00:20:10
Speaker
But you get multiple fourth down stops. in the you know you You hold Chicago to one of four on fourth down. In the first half, you're getting pressure. your Caleb looks terrible. I think he was completing under 50% his passes.
00:20:25
Speaker
and We said it all year. This defense can do that, but it needs support, and it had support. your score You scored touchdowns on your three first drive. you you know You took the end of half drive into scoring position, and you should have if you had a real kicker. But... Yeah, like you saw how well this defense operates when both sides of the ball are functioning.
00:20:52
Speaker
And then in the second half, they got hung out to dry. And like I said, I won't excuse everything that went wrong for them, but you got interceptions, which you weren't getting at all earlier in the season. Although the one you can argue about, I'm glad Carrington finally was able to hang on to one. But, you know, you could say that he should have just let one go. This is one that we were having much more fun over. it And in the end, it kind of did play out fine for the Packers because they got a touchdown on their drive and it did help them chew up more clock and all that kind of stuff. But honestly, my attitude was you dropped so many easier opportunities. It's like this this group had to record an interception. And it's one of those where you can't ever prove it. But I feel like if Carrington doesn't catch that one,
00:21:42
Speaker
then you don't get the hopper one. And I know both were on fourth down plays, but if you don't get the hopper one, who knows if like that ball tips to the offensive player, you know, all that, all that kind of junk that could happen and stuff. But, you know, you got...
00:21:59
Speaker
really, you got relatively elite play out of the defense for two-thirds of the game, and then the wheels just fell off because they they they had no support. Lucas flashed.
00:22:11
Speaker
you know Lucas had the lone sack of the game. I thought the D-tackles were playing decently well until you know they all were just spent later in the game.
00:22:20
Speaker
And like I said, it's just just like my thoughts on Jordan's game. It's an absolute shame that their effort is just going to be all for naught. Everyone's just going to focus on how the last 10 minutes of that game went because other people didn't do their job. And it's just the same...
00:22:41
Speaker
Oh, I thought you froze for a second there. was looking something up. And I agree with that. And I also wonder if, and you might know a little bit more. i was That's what I was trying to look up real quick. Did Edge come back into the game after getting hurt?
00:22:53
Speaker
No, I don't think he did. And I think a lot of the defense went down after he was out. And this isn't anything... McDuffie is what McDuffie is. We've said that for the longest time. He's not a coverage backer. He's not a speed backer. He's a downhill thumper.
00:23:13
Speaker
And you can see that. So when Quay and Edge are on the field, you can see a completely different defense than what you see when it's Quay and McDuffie or Edge and McDuffie. So, and like I said, this isn't anything against McDuffie. I do like him for what he is. He's he's a solid a depth piece that can that can come in when needed. but you can tell there's a difference in between, between all that. But yeah, I mean, defense overall, I can't fault them too much per se. And I know a lot of people are blasting Halfley right now because of, I wonder if it's copium
Special Teams Performance and Criticism
00:23:54
Speaker
because I, they do believe that he's not going to be on the team after that, uh, next year because of head coaching jobs.
00:24:05
Speaker
Uh, Which it possibly could, but there's a lot of them blasting him for game planning and not being able to adjust and all that. It's like he's dealing with what he can deal with.
00:24:17
Speaker
yeah doesn't have his top pass rusher. He doesn't have his top defensive lineman. He was handed and I guess this could be part of his own issue, but he was handed a shit bag for for cornerbacks.
00:24:30
Speaker
And, oh you know, digs played like one snap the whole game. So I don't know what was going on there. and So, yeah, I'm not sure, but i think a lot of people are just having copium because they do honestly think the athlete is not going to be back and they don't want him to leave.
00:24:52
Speaker
But, yeah, I just – I don't know. that' it just – – this game boggled my mind something fierce. Let's see. I was going to check something –
00:25:05
Speaker
but but but but but Okay, i I don't think there's too many more. oh Do you have any other? no i'm i I'm good moving on. No, I have one more goofier one that I can put into fresh, but I just want to make sure you're you're out of them.
00:25:27
Speaker
I'm going to give it to Well, Mike just left. That'll wait for him to come back now.
00:25:35
Speaker
one of these days I'm going to put the Jeopardy music in here. Was it that bad that you to leave on that one? Okay. Darian Canard.
00:25:46
Speaker
was it that bad that you had to leave on that one not okay darian cannard
00:25:56
Speaker
is our next friggin tight end. I don't care what anybody says. That boy had some moves to him. If it wasn't for the fumble, he would have, he'd probably been gone. i don't care.
00:26:07
Speaker
and They had a hard time taking him down. He caught that thing like a professional. He was out there making moves like a professional. I was happy for it.
00:26:18
Speaker
I, and to be honest, he probably should have been the right tackle over, over, over Morgan. but that can be a whole other story. But that play was amazing. I'm surprised. i think it was just one of them. Jordan didn't want to take a sack, so he was throwing it to oh yeah an eligible player. And Kennard made the most of it.
00:26:43
Speaker
No, the line the line got its ass kicked on its plate. And, you know, like I said, that was the second half offensive line. But, yeah, like, Kennard's one mistake on that play is he had the ball in the incorrect hand, but otherwise he put Tremaine Edmonds under the turf.
00:27:00
Speaker
and and And he shook a second tackle. And then, yeah, if he has the ball in the correct hand, that's probably not a fumble. So, yeah. Yeah, he just fundamentals. Tackles, though. He was running people over. Oh, yeah. Like I said, like Tremaine Edmonds. I give Tremaine Edmonds credit for getting up after that play because he got folded backwards like a lawn chair on that one. Oh, man. That was if if the Packers had one, we'd be talking more about that play alone. oh yeah. Like that was one of those. Maybe it is somehow stupidly still their year kind of plays because it's like.
00:27:38
Speaker
any other year that's a touchdown for the bears kind of thing like that that's just how but for that fumble to go off four bears and bounce out of bounds that was just it felt like one of those signs that maybe there is something special to this run and nope it was over well and that's the sad part is there are a lot of things that were a lot of things that were bouncing for the packers favor uh you know like i said the the watson fumble the canard making his play and then fumbling that was uh the josh jacobs fumble the
00:28:19
Speaker
uh what was the other one there was one that was almost intercepted but was dropped so that kind of went for the Packers favor but I just have to throw that one in there because how many times do you see the big boy make a play like that so yep all right we'll jump to the next one and I don't know how much I have as a stale what's this deal shit
00:28:43
Speaker
maybe the run game because i have that i have that under moldy for... i guess you can put it in stale that it did seem to be working early, and then it just, like everything on offense, it didn't after halftime. Well, not just that, but you could tell Jacobs was feeling a lot better, so he was doing what he could with the plays that were being called, and and that, and Wilson and Brooks were kind of the same way, so I can't really...
00:29:16
Speaker
i can't put it towards moldy i can't put them towards moldy it's more stale with because even though they were giving the effort that they were it wasn't working out for them you can put the play call as moldy all damn day long yeah but for them i can't put as moldy because they so they were doing what they could with what they were given yeah it was just a microcosm of how like what's it like they had everything rolling early in the game. And then by the third quarter, the run game couldn't do shit afterwards. So yeah, it's yeah.
00:29:52
Speaker
Other than that, Maybe Whelan. i think I don't think he was as crisp but with his stuff. i know they were I didn't get to see the hold, but they did blame one of the... Oh, Hopper got messed and not his fault. he got He got like clipped and blocked and shoved in the back on one of them.
00:30:12
Speaker
And then the other one, you when they show the like from behind view, Evan Williams, I think, is actually the one who fucks up the coverage on the second long return because he comes into frame. That's not what I was talking about. They were kind of blaming him for one of the missed field goals. They said the hole wasn't that great. But i you know how they do that. They don't let you see the hold. No.
00:30:35
Speaker
no i i don't think it was him i'm pretty sure it was the other guy who yeah no i don't know i i kind of trust kirk herbstreet a little bit more than i do other announcers i kind of put him in the same boat as like a greg olson where i i think they're solid announcers and all that so and i think it was him that kind of said that it didn't look like the hold was that great but again they wouldn't replay it so we could see the the hold on it and i won't go back and re-watch the game just for that little moment so yeah that's why i got to put a little bit in the in the stale just because if if he is that's one of the few times that you can blame anything on the kick right on him
00:31:20
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, and I can't put any of the returns back on him because of reasons. but Yeah, the hang times feel the felt fine. Coverage teams just busted him, it felt like. but Is that all you got for Moldy then? stale? Yeah.
00:31:37
Speaker
yeah That's a moldy cheese. right. Which one you want to start with?
Offensive Strategy and Game Management
00:31:44
Speaker
I'm going with Matt LaFleur. And so you kind of pointed out like, you know, other games we've been able to say like, okay, like is Jordan not seeing what he's supposed to see pre-snap and, you know, all that kind of stuff.
00:31:56
Speaker
Matt should have been in. If the game ends at halftime, Matt's in the in the fresh. Because he came out aggressive. They were using the pass game and just mincing this Chicago defense to death.
00:32:09
Speaker
And then, okay, I didn't track this super well after the first couple drives. But the first drive in particular, and I thought i thought my TV was off. But they break the huddle with nine seconds on the play clock.
00:32:25
Speaker
First play out of halftime. So there's there's they barely get the snap off on that play. Same thing happens the rest of that. So for the next two plays on that drive. so And it did happen at least once or twice on the following drive. where Well, it also happened on the last one when they finally did get the delay a game because they were out of timeouts.
00:32:47
Speaker
Right. But so like, and my point is, is like, I understand how like LeFleur's play calls are so long and there's all the like, you're going to check with me and you have two plays and shit like that. But there is no excuse coming out of halftime that you need that long to decide what play you're going to call. And there's no reason for you to be breaking the huddle that late. That's on LeFleur. You're the play caller.
00:33:14
Speaker
Call the fucking play and get your offense out there. Jordan has no chance to set protection, check can to another play, reset, whatever. There's none of that because you took so long, you had your thumb up your ass for so long out of the play clock that...
00:33:31
Speaker
each of those first three plays in the second half and you saw what happened like first play and that's gonna go into the next one for me first play gets blown up because someone on the o-line up pass protection and jordan gets flushed out of the pocket by a corner second down play they're over you know they're i don't know if jordan could have would have or could have checked out of the run but Chicago just just snuffs the run out on second down. And then on third down, it's third and 11. And again, nothing much there for the offense.
00:34:04
Speaker
And for most of the second half, my issue with LeFleur is, You look at the first half of plays, there's so much pre-snap motion, the cans, the the checks, you know, moving people around, all that kind of stuff. That's all over the game film in the first half. In the second half, it looked like a McCarthy offense with Rodgers where no one goes in motion, no checks, you know, like it...
00:34:30
Speaker
you're just breaking the huddle so late and love isn't burning timeouts but he's just like fuck like hurry up get down get set kind of thing and go and to me that's the part of this where that's completely on the floor as what the fuck are you doing like what like what the literal shit are you doing
00:34:56
Speaker
I joked before the game that like this couldn't be a game where, oh, they needed halftime adjustments. You shouldn't have made any fucking halftime adjustments in this game. You should have literally... like This is one of those games where you literally, as LaFleur, could take your first half play... You could take your game script that you opened the game with...
00:35:12
Speaker
and just run that again in the second half honestly because it worked so well for you like there was no need for any sort of revisions to your game plan changes adjustments nothing you you shouldn't have changed anything and instead you come out in this malaise and yes like i said there was the third down play where jordan should have broken the pocket and run with it around midfield and you know if who knows how different it things are if you pick up that first down and all that kind of stuff but Just there was a discernible, undeniable difference in how the game was being called on offense.
00:35:51
Speaker
And i i had it simmering. You know, I had i was i wast tweeting about it where i was like, this doesn't feel the same. I do not like what we're seeing out of this offense, that everything looks so wholesale different.
00:36:06
Speaker
And in the end, it made a huge difference because your offense didn't do shit for 20 minutes. And that's where I say that's it for matt for me is like,
00:36:20
Speaker
Normally it's the, oh, it took him too long to adjust. To me, it's this way. It's like, why did you change? Like, o you just are you just that lost or that much you're trying to sim to end and just, you know? Well, that's why I said earlier, it felt like he was giving play call off to somebody else.
00:36:39
Speaker
right know yeah He did his job to get him up 18 points. So here, Steno, you can call plays because it felt completely like a completely different coach calling plays.
00:36:51
Speaker
So I don't know if that's what's going on or But even still, like and and like I said, and we've gone you know we've doubled into the, you know, does the floor lead to give up play calling thing?
00:37:05
Speaker
And we both settled on the, then why is he your head coach? Because, like, that's his thing is he's good at play calling. If he's not going to call your plays, why is he going to be your head coach?
00:37:17
Speaker
And he has his moments where he shows he can call plays. Right. The first half of this game. Yeah. The first half of this game. Or look how many times when Malik has had to come into the game.
00:37:28
Speaker
He makes this amazing game plan for Malik. Yep. And I just I don't I i don't know. i really don't. That's why I said I wonder if if there's something there that he.
00:37:43
Speaker
passes the buck off to steno or or besatia or somebody and says okay you know if if i gotta step in i'll step in yep and yeah i'm i'm just done i'm just done i think we've legitimately seen on i've been sitting here thinking about this i honestly think what could possibly happen is policy sits down with the floor and says, okay, you've got one more year to prove yourself.
00:38:18
Speaker
You have, but I'm not bringing you back this year if you keep these same guys as you're as your coaching group. Yeah, I could see it that way.
00:38:31
Speaker
And like you said, i know Policy has the comment of he doesn't want to he doesn't want to have a lame duck coach and all that kind of stuff. The only problem is the timing. I guess it helps that the Packers are out of the playoffs already, so you can entertain the opportunity that, like,
00:38:48
Speaker
maybe john eric really wants matt down in miami you know just to you know to to shift the organizational direction down there or if atlanta is serious like i'm not going to be greedy you can have him for a fifth round like that's how little i think of him and how much i'm over him i'm like we'll take no they won't trade him for anything less than i that's where i'll disagree with you i have a feeling the packers if they trade him it's going to be for a decent Yeah, and I have no idea how coaching coaching negotiations for trade work and all that kind of stuff because I'm just like, you know, it is the whole, okay, but you're going to like fire this guy kind of thing and stuff. and
00:39:29
Speaker
and my And like I said, my whole thing is I'm like, I don't need to see any more of this show. I've seen enough of this sideshow and like I know how it's going to end every time. Yeah. I don't know. I keep seeing, though, well, he needs to bring in Mike McDaniel as his OC. If that's what it takes for him to continue to be the play caller he is he can be, do it.
00:39:55
Speaker
Right now. I don't care. Give him the money. if If that's what it takes LaFleur, it takes for him to be the play caller we know Matt LaFleur can be,
00:40:07
Speaker
do it yeah don't care bring nathaniel hackett back bring whoever you have to back to make it so the floor calls the place for a full game and not just a half yep and yeah i just i i just don't think it matters like that's my thing but yours yours uh what is your uh your first one gonna be the one that we've been harping on all friggin year And that's Brandon McManus. He should have never... And the worst part of it, and I don't think they've locked themselves into anything because of the three-year extension. they can print they can very easily get out of it. Like they could have cut him like I said, they could have cut him this year and moved on and they would have still saved money kind of thing. And this isn't to say Havarisk is the guy.
00:40:56
Speaker
no But...
00:40:59
Speaker
I'll tell you who we need to bring in. and And I think he's in the draft. He'll be going into the draft this year. So not saying draft him, but Drew Stevens out of Iowa is pretty damn clutch. And I would take him, and this isn't just a Hawkeye homerism here.
00:41:16
Speaker
Go look at Drew Stevens. He plays in a lot of the same frigging conditions that they play at Lambeau. And he's pretty frigging clutch and has a hell of a leg on him. So I would do that in a heartbeat. I mean, you could sign a guy, a vet to the practice squad and, you know, have a hell of a competition going into things. But there is no doubt in my mind they need a different kicker. I've never been a fan of Brandon McManus. I've never held him in in any regard because, you know, all the rumors that we heard out of Denver was he was a headache. Then the I know they dismissed the charges, but you have all the allegations against him when he was where was it? He was in Jacksonville.
00:42:06
Speaker
Yep. So I've never been a fan of him. And now a lot of people are seeing, basically I saw him as as a Mason with more baggage to him.
00:42:19
Speaker
Yep. That's exactly what he is. Because he has the same frigging kicking percentage as Mason did. And now people are seeing why we were never in high esteem esteem for Brandon McManus. But They were having an issue last year with their kickers and he came in and did this, this and this. So then people immediately fell in love with him. The worst thing that happened is he happened to go 20 at 21 last regular season. Right.
00:42:54
Speaker
Like it just created this painted this picture for several game winners. Yep. In his first two games. Yep. And it just created this picture for a lot of Packers fans that was completely unrealistic and just outside of any season of his career.
00:43:13
Speaker
And Reality came and slapped all the Packers in the face because this is who he's been. And from the from the jump, the first kick before halftime, i was so irritated. It's like, you got the you got the the the practice kick because, you know, the Bears called timeout so late. You see the wind is blowing right to left.
00:43:34
Speaker
And what do you do? You kick the the real kick more left than you kick the practice one. And it's like... What the fuck is going through your dumbass head? And then you shank an extra point. Like, no excuse. You just shank an extra point.
00:43:51
Speaker
And then you miss the field goal on the second-to-last drive. and You make either the extra point or the field goal, and you're either kicking to tie or kicking to win at the end. And like I said, it would be a disappointing win, but it would still be a win. And it's just those kind of moments that are inexcusable.
00:44:13
Speaker
And it goes at the feet of Bisaccia, too, because you picked this guy. And, you know I see people trying to blame Goot. The thing is, is like. Good isn't a coach. He's not a coach. And he has to take the word of the the experts.
00:44:31
Speaker
That's Bisaccia. And by Bisaccia being there still, that's co-signed by LeFleur. And the side the thing that you and I kept bringing up is like, if they're so certain about,
00:44:46
Speaker
if they're so dead certain about... What's his face? About... McManus. Haversick. Why is he still on the roster?
00:44:57
Speaker
And I think that's... was That's because... well hes I know they always keep an extra kicker and all that kind of stuff. always keep an extra one. yeah But also, like, during the whole episode of, like, is he really healthy? Is he not healthy? You know, that whole thing and stuff. Like...
00:45:16
Speaker
it just I tweeted it after the game that like you go down the list of all the things that Matt sold his soul to this year. They all bit him in the ass this game. like at like They bit him in the ass at different points of the season, but they all share reared their ugly heads at in unison in this game.
00:45:37
Speaker
And... honestly, it's just more proof that yeah, like he's done, but yeah, like McManus, that was horrible.
00:45:49
Speaker
And, and well, I got a couple of points here, but to kind of touch on people talking about Goot, Goot has to go by what he sees, what scouts see and what his coaches are telling him.
00:46:03
Speaker
Yep. And it's the same way with LeFleur. LeFleur has to go by what his coaches are telling him and what he's seeing. So if Basaccia, and that's why I've said a hundred different times, if LeFleur is listening to Basaccia, Basaccia needs it to be gone yesterday.
00:46:20
Speaker
Because it's obvious that Basaccia is not, he's a he's a player's coach. He's friends with players. He, you know, hey, buddy, buddy, you know, whatever.
00:46:33
Speaker
and you could tell that by uh by them bringing in several x friggin raiders for because besaccio was out there when they were out there and yeah i you know for somebody who's supposed to be hyped up as one of the best special teams guys when the packers signed him he has not shown an ability for that at all and And I have to say, i was hyped for him coming in because we were told that, hey, this is one of the best special teams guys you can get.
00:47:05
Speaker
Yep. And it it just it's not happening. So he needs to be gone. Orsic needs to be gone. McManus needs to be gone.
00:47:17
Speaker
i know I joked bring Harbaugh in as a special teams coordinator, but I don't even know if that would work. The guy that I would love to see in there took took a job in Michigan State, so that ain't happening. He's not going to jump from Michigan State yet And that's LeVar Woods because he was Hawkeye's special teams coordinator for the longest time. and The only way he does is if they have a new coaching staff. like He's not going to come for LeFleur on a like lame duck season kind of thing. yeah
00:47:51
Speaker
Well, no, he's not even going to jump because he just jumped from the Hawkeyes to Michigan State. I see what you're saying. Got it. yeah Got it. No, he just he's only been on Michigan State for like three months.
00:48:03
Speaker
So I really don't see him making that jump but that soon. but he would because it And i know, again, people are going to sit here and say, oh, well, Homerism, Homerism,
Officiating Controversies and Impact
00:48:15
Speaker
Homerism. Go look at Iowa's frigging special teams sometime. Oh, yeah. that was their That was their game plan. So I agree. Yeah.
00:48:27
Speaker
Let's see what other one. I'm going to throw this one out there. and I know especially Bears fans are going to have go nuts over it. But I am going to say it the refs in this game were horrid.
00:48:41
Speaker
and And I'll give you a big reason why. You go look at team stats. And I'm not saying this is all.
00:48:51
Speaker
there I guess you could go both sides, but penalties and yards for the Packers, seven penalties, 65 yards. Penalty and yards for the Bears, two penalties, five yards.
00:49:03
Speaker
And they missed two big ones back-to-back in the first half. Well, they missed a lot of big things throughout the game. But do that were the the two that stood out, there there were two that were on back-to-back plays that stood out so clearly to me. And it was appalling me.
00:49:20
Speaker
for multiple reasons that they missed these, but keep going, keep going. Sorry, I'll i'll jump back in. One of the big ones that I know of was the hit that Booker put Jordan.
00:49:31
Speaker
That was the second play of the two that I was talking about. and And I know there was another hit that somebody made on Jordan that should have been... called because they drove him into the ground and that's that's the letter of the the rule. It's the one he got called for intentional grounding on, I think. Yeah.
00:49:48
Speaker
So you can't drive somebody, a quarterback, into the ground there were a couple of like late hits out they were out of bounds when they got hit and there was nothing called uh there was and and i actually called a couple people out on this because they were bitching about how why why didn't gary get the pressure on this and it's like he got the pressure he would have had the sack if it wasn't for him being hooked around the neck yeah it wasn' And it wasn't just Rashawn. Lucas got held. Right. Lucas got held.
00:50:22
Speaker
Well, look at the one where he actually did get credited for the strip tag. He was being held all damn day long on that one. that was That was an awesome hand slap that he did because, yeah, – Trapillo hooked him bad on that one.
00:50:37
Speaker
But then, yeah, so the back to that Booker one. The play before it, Nashawn Wright is standing one yard offside. Oh, really? i didn't pay attention to that. and And it's one of those where, and it's only like obvious because it's like he's on the near, so you know, on the broadcast near side.
00:50:55
Speaker
And why it's obvious is, I think it's Reid, whoever the slot receiver to that side is, he steps back to like make sure he's off the ball. And Nashawn steps up to match him. And it's like,
00:51:07
Speaker
He's over the... it's it's He's so like clearly over the... I know it's not official, but the line of scrimmage line. But he's like in line with whoever is on the line of scrimmage. I think it's Musgrave because he's split out there. And it's like...
00:51:22
Speaker
he's standing right in front of you, ref. Where's the flag? And then you said the next play is the Booker play where, you know, and like Bears fans are like, Ooh, like love is ducking again. I'm like, I don't care. You don't put your head down and drill a guy like that. And it is one of those, like, no, they don't need a targeting call in the NFL and stuff like that. But it goes into the whole, like, what is the point of the replay assist situation?
00:51:48
Speaker
That, you know, the why do you do... I do not understand why the NFL shows that, oh, yeah, we do have 20 people sitting in the room doing nothing but watching games. And we do have the capability to reach out and be like, hey, you guys messed this up kind of thing. And it did, like, turn a couple plays for the Packers in this game. But it's like, when it's something so blatant where, like...
00:52:14
Speaker
Terry McCauley in his senile age is like, oh yeah, that's an illegal hit on the quarterback. And even Herbstreet's like, that's not a good look. that That's a bad hit kind of thing. It's not fed. No, because it was very reminiscent of the one that he did. right But wasn't there another one that when he hit him, it wasn't quite to the head, but it drilled him in the shoulder enough. And then he as he was taking him, he drilled him into the ground and slammed his head into the ground.
00:52:42
Speaker
And it's like, how is that not a flag or one of the grounding calls i i couldn't understand it the other one yeah whatever you can nail him for grounding but the other one was he was getting pushed far enough back when he let loose he was targeting golden but the ball fell like five yards short of but he was targeting gordon golden it wasn't he was throwing it away yeah And that was the one where rounding though I actually thought the i thought the first one was the worst one because I thought the refs completely overreacted to the fact that he hit that he hit belted with the ball because I understand that like, oh, it's a illegal, blah, blah, blah. But Herbstreit was Johnny on the spot on the explanation.
00:53:34
Speaker
Brooks is who he's targeting and Brooks is running like an angle route out of the backfield. And if Belton isn't there, that ball is maybe Brooks has a chance to catch it, but it's at least falling at his feet. But because at Jordan's getting hit as he throws it, which is why it's doubly so like... Well, they're two similar. It's just one is he bounced it off a belt and the other one fell but like five yards short. But my my point is the belting one, like the the golden one, it's one where I'm kind of like, it didn't really matter because it was going to be fourth down anyway and all that kind of stuff. but And so I was kind of like, whatever. them for grounding over and for stupidness. Right. But the Brooks one i thought was worse because it it led to third down. And again, it's refs overreacting to seeing the wrong thing. And you even have Jordan explaining like...
00:54:26
Speaker
I know that's my right guard. I'm aiming for the running back who's crossing in phase behind him. And again, it's one of those where what's the point of replay? And like when Herbstreit pulls up the replay, it's clear as day what Jordan's trying to do. And the thing is, is that the part of the rule that the Packers have gotten absolutely screwed by is what happened on that play where if the quarterback gets hit while he's throwing the ball,
00:54:51
Speaker
I forget exactly how they word it in the bylaw, but basically you aren't able to be called for intentional grounding if you start your throwing motion before you're hit and then you get hit as you're throwing. It's some complicated alphabet suit of words, but basically that scenario that played out, and that's the one, like you said, where it's kind of borderline that Sweat lands on him and puts him into the turf. i I thought about it, but I was like, Sweat kind of puts... it's the It's the Matthews play that we were all mad about where it's like he doesn't fully land on him. He does put his hands out behind the quarterback kind of thing. But again, it's the part of the intentional ground. degree And it does screw Green Bay because...
00:55:33
Speaker
It should just be incomplete, you know, and not third in forever kind of thing. But because you call it grounding, it becomes third in like a country mile. And it's like, okay, drive is definitely totally over. But yeah, that... you know, whatever you were letting the Bears O-line get away with.
Offensive Line Performance and Adjustments
00:55:51
Speaker
Yeah, it's just, but yeah, you know, like you said, it's one of those where, you know, everyone's gonna be like, oh, you're just soured grapes kind of thing and stuff. But like, when you look at how that game played out, it's like,
00:56:06
Speaker
you it's really interesting to see and like even the holding you know and rasheed was terrible and that's gonna be my next one rasheed was absolutely god dog shit awful in the second half but that holding call that they called it him was one of the worst holding calls that i've seen on season and like you said especially with what they were letting the bears offensive line due to the packers pass rushers like that was a terrible terrible holding call but my last one that i'm about for rasheed walker that was a pitiful excuse in the second half of this game like just not getting like even in the first half you had the one qb hit by booker where it was a clean hit by booker rasheed doesn't even get hands on him he kind of like ghost hands him and then the hand gets knocked off and
00:56:55
Speaker
That was happening all game where he just like wasn't strong enough with his hand punch. He got run around by a DB to open the second half of the game. And that's why the the the first play out of halftime got fucked is because not only was LeFleur late getting the call in, but Walker doesn't block anyone.
00:57:12
Speaker
And he was just so pitiful the second half. And you could tell like it Jordan at times did kind of look like how he looked in that Eagles game where it was like,
00:57:23
Speaker
He knew Rashid wasn't doing anything over there and it just completely screwed. Like whatever things LaFleur actually made a decent call on, Walker was so bad that it screwed the protection so much that it didn't matter kind of thing. so And I think that did feed into why Jordan didn't run on that third and short. And like, it's not, it it's, you know, Jordan, you've got to go convert that. But I do think the clock was, the alarm clock in his head was just binging away because he was like,
00:57:56
Speaker
My left tackle is not blocking shit. Like, I don't trust anything that I can see. my right tackle is not doing much either. and my I think Jordan was okay. like and And can he be better? Of course. But I do chalk a lot of it up to you're asking him to play out of position and all that kind of stuff.
00:58:15
Speaker
I thought Jordan was fine. The the real shame of it is is that with Tom not being able to play yesterday... when Rasheed started to struggle and play like shit, you couldn't yank him and put Jordan in at left tackle. That was... But to me, Rasheed was so bad in the second half that they should have put Jordan at left tackle and put Kennard at right tackle. It was that bad. like and And people were like, what are I'm like, he is that bad that it it shouldn't even be a debate. You should just make that move because...
00:58:47
Speaker
He killed three of the three first drives out of halftime, along with the other things we talked about already.
00:58:56
Speaker
I mean, I could keep piling on special teams. It's pretty sad when you have to put your star running back as your frigging kick returner. And he looked good up until his fumble. Yeah.
00:59:10
Speaker
Go back to the penalties. There was a couple of them where like the pass interference ones that should have been called pass interference that weren't pass interference. Uh,
00:59:21
Speaker
I think that's the DBs Carrington and Nixon. I know a lot of people are starting to call out Nixon now because they've seen the Swift TD and Nixon just kind of pulls a Cam Newton and and tough guy like. Yeah.
00:59:40
Speaker
and I'm trying to think if there's anything else. I got, yeah, yeah, I got one. i don't know how how I would have changed it, but how do you not have Colin Oliver active when, when. You need speed on
Improving Defensive and Special Teams Strategies
00:59:57
Speaker
defense. Yeah. Yeah.
00:59:59
Speaker
Because Sorrell looked good in his limited, you know, snaps. So why not have Colin Oliver? I get he hasn't played all year. He played in the Vikings game.
01:00:11
Speaker
He looked decent. But he's the guy that you need for speed. And he could have easily replaced a little bit of what Edge was bringing when Edge went down. Because he could be used as that guy to shoot the gap in...
01:00:31
Speaker
oh in in past rushing down so i i bring that down to the decisions on on player active active visit act i can't even fucking talk mike say it for me activizations activation there you go jesus i don't know why i couldn't say that fucking word I mean, i know that's a LaFleur thing. I know that's a halfway thing. I know that's a – you know, all the coaches get together and say, hey, this is who we think should play and who shouldn't. I don't know who they could have replaced with him because I know they activated Nick Neiman specifically for the game for special teams.
01:01:14
Speaker
But I – i I don't know who they who they could replace Oliver or Oliver could replace, but not having him out there helping to chase around Caleb Williams, I think really really did ding the defense a little bit.
01:01:33
Speaker
Yeah. Mosby. like Special teams are going to suck anyway, so just don't activate Mosby. And he was pretty weak on special teams. I kind of blame him up for a couple of the returns that they had.
01:01:47
Speaker
Yep. So... I think that's about all the ones that I have. Yeah, honestly good, too. I think think we've gotten everything at this point. I feel like there's not much left to say.
01:02:00
Speaker
oh Scheduling notes.
Future Podcast Plans and Engagement
01:02:02
Speaker
I think next week is going to be our awards episode. Maybe. I'm going to see about probably getting...
01:02:13
Speaker
a guest or two to come on and and do some awards with us. So I don't know if it's going to be live or not. And then after that, we're probably going to take a couple week break so we can retool to start doing our draft prep.
01:02:32
Speaker
And then it'll be draft stuff up until the end of April and then it'll be back to season off topic. Sounds good.
01:02:44
Speaker
But yep, check out the website, ohanapackers.org. Please support us through the shop there. Check out, you know, as we get into the offseason, we'll i'll be trying to write a little more, put some articles on there, talk about, you know, direction of the team.
01:02:59
Speaker
Decide, you know, debating where I want to take that because so much of that won't be answered until we know what LeFleur's status is. But, you know, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Check us out on your favorite social medias at ohana underscore packers on Twitter. at Ohana Packers Edition on Instagram.
01:03:16
Speaker
Please follow us on Facebook. Trying to get that follower count up so we can go live there once we hit the 100 follower mark, excuse me. And you need to be following us there to be eligible for our drawings. you know you know We're going to have the signed memorabilia from John Delray shop, John Delray shop, along with some of the goodies from Hawaii. So you know you need to be following us there to be eligible for those.
01:03:41
Speaker
And just continue to support us however you can. Please follow the podcast on your favorite podcasting apps. Give a like and a subscribe. And as Joe said, you know, we're going to lay out how we're going to do the offseason, but follow us for more of your more of our Packers offseason thoughts as they retool for the 2026 season. We'll see how different this team looks depending on if they're returning a shuffled up coaching staff or a completely new one.
01:04:07
Speaker
But for Iowa Joe, I'm Mike. Go Pack Go and Aloha.