Packers' Surprising Success: Thursday Night Insights & Analysis

But let's get to Packers-Panthers first on Thursday Night Football. We're also going to get to the trade deadline, which is coming up pretty soon here. I think it kind of takes us by surprise sometimes. Exactly. We had some active moves, so we'll get to that when David Bloom comes on. But, John, this Packers-Panthers game, we've talked about the Panthers, we've talked about the Packers. I think I've got to say this right now, because I was very low on the Packers. I think I was wrong about the Packers. I think they're actually pretty good. I didn't. Pretty good? Yeah, I didn't think they were going to be good at all. I thought it was going to be a disaster. And this Packers team has now rattled off a lot of wins in a row. They actually lost a turnover battle to the Panthers. But Green Bay is now 5-3. Carolina is 3-4. Obviously, Green Bay lost to Detroit last week. That snapped their win streak last week. Now Carolina's lost two straight. Just what are your thoughts, John, on this Packers team now? They're 5-3. They're on, what, a four-game winning streak, something like that, going into that last week's game. But now they're back at 5-3. They're going to be in the mix for this NFC North. Obviously, you know your Bears are back at it with Caleb Williams. So this division is going to be unforgiving. But the Packers get the win on Thursday night. What are your thoughts? Uh, Packer wins are versus the Jets, the Bucks without Baker Mayfield, the Bears without Caleb Williams, the hapless Cowboys and the Panthers who, you know, if I will, I walk away saying that if you are the Green Bay Packers and you can't run the ball against the Carolina Panthers, you have a massive problem. Every team has ran the ball against the Carolina Panthers at a clip that is pretty embarrassing for an NFL football team. And yet the Packers still couldn't generate any run game against the Carolina Panthers. So I would say it's good to see them getting healthy. I would say it was good to see Josh Jacobs out there until he does the I'm in police cuffs celebration after getting a domestic violence issue. So he's clearly smart. I just thought that. They look good on offense once the drops stop. They got a drop issue. And before I go anywhere else on this show, I want to just say, when Caleb Williams was taken off the field and he was fist pumping the crowd and you guys just rolled him into the sunset with the meme, if y'all let this man get away with getting out of the ambulance and walking back to the field, I don't know what to tell y'all. What's wrong with that? He got drilled. Bruh, he got in an ambulance. What are you doing? We playing soccer now? Didn't he go to the hospital? Didn't he go to a brief trip to the hospital and came back and played? He ain't go to no damn hospital. Buddy got in an ambulance. They circled the block. Put him back in. I don't know the proximity to the, to the hospital. Maybe a little, maybe a little. It's, it's. It's Green Bay. They ain't got nothing but a bunch of clinics. Ha, ha, ha. Maybe he went to a hospital in Green Bay. The nearest hospital in Green Bay is in Milwaukee, bro. Ain't nothing in Green Bay but some clinics. Yeah. Well, listen, they, they called it a chest injury. They said he did go to the hospital, but he was cleared and he returned. Thank He went for eight for one 13. So he was actually insane, but. I don't believe that man went to the hospital across the street in an ambulance. you So you're not bought in on this Packers team, no like this They've played very well as of late, even though they lost Detroit your I understand that. But you just don't believe it like long term, I'm assuming I thought they played well against Detroit time For what it's worth, I thought they played well against Detroit as well. They just weren't able to win that game. I think that the game that they've won you can only play the teams on your schedule that particular week. And I thought that they, I mean, all jokes aside, I thought they played very good football. They did exactly what they were supposed to do to Chicago Bears. And to me, that's a sign of a productive team when you're supposed to be the team and you beat the snot out of that team That's what I like to see. I thought tonight was one of those games where you should have beat the snot out of the Panthers. And you really didn't They still had a chance to win that game if they could convert on third or fourth down And Bryce Young stops throwing the ball into the dirt But again, I thought that the Green Bay Packers have, again, beaten the team that they've been across but I haven't been impressed with their win since, you know, destroying Chicago. Yeah, and another big issue for Green Bay is their kicker, Smack. It's so funny Every time I see his name It's just insane to me But Trey Smack, he missed a PAT off the left upright It was his eighth missed kick this season. Now, we've seen the Rams. Obviously, they're going through their carousel of kickers right now, and they're obviously looking to be a playoff team. Like, this is an issue if they're going to get into, like, a one-score game in January, or if they're going to get into these close games, right? Can I raise you a special teams issue? Because they fumbled the opening kickoff There you go.