Inbox: Everything that happens affects everything else

Chuck from Waterloo, WI

Is it too early to talk about the bye week?

Be my guest.

Dave from Lakewood Ranch, FL

Wow. Feel bad for you guys. You have to deal with the venom for two weeks.

The only loss worse than one heading into the bye is a season-ender.

Rich from Bannockburn, IL

So I keep hearing about our QB learning from his mistakes and that we will clean up all our penalties yet I see no progress, and more infuriating, the same turnovers and mistakes being made. Is it that our players are not making any personal process improvements, or that our coaching staff is not making the players improve to eliminate these same mistakes. This is getting old...

I can appreciate the frustration, and I share it.

LA from Sammamish, WA

After last year's fatal interception against SF, we read repeatedly last spring and this summer that the coaches and Jordan Love were working on reducing his tendency to attempt completions that weren't "in the window." However, it appears to this writer that JL has regressed in this regard. What gives?

I wish I knew the answer. He hasn't protected the football the way he needs to after doing it so well down the stretch last year (one INT over the final eight regular-season games and first playoff contest). His 10 interceptions are an alarming number in basically 6½ games. He's thrown half of them in the three losses – to the Eagles (1), Vikings (3) and Lions (1), all teams with winning records. He was able to overcome the disastrous pick-six against a (then) banged-up and struggling Rams team, but better teams make those turnovers so much more costly. That's the lesson that must be heeded moving forward.

Jordan from Osterdock, IA

A calamity of errors including another poor decision INT. Should we be concerned? You guys have said J. Love is "unfazed" by anything but could that also be a detriment?

I'll take the unflappability in the heat of the moment anytime. Stuff is always gonna go wrong and you can't get all discombobulated over it. But I don't think he takes the INTs lightly or just brushes them off, either. I do think it would help Love to be able to focus more on his game and less on his health after the bye. Fingers crossed that can happen.

Vishnu from Santa Clara, CA

It looks like there's still a lot of the same issues we've seen all year – dropped balls, middling pass rush, penalties everywhere, and bad turnovers by Love. The Packers deserve to feel good about themselves at 6-3, but they've gotten away with some stuff along the way, and there's no "It's Week 1 in Brazil" or "Love is coming back from injury" excuses to use here. This is a good team, and hopefully this loss will accelerate learning some lessons. To me, it must start with No. 10.

It always does and always will. It's a QB-driven league. Love was gutting through an injury, and yes I've read everyone's suggestions that Malik Willis should've played. Love looked good enough to play to me, and if the catchable passes are caught, he has 30 completions in this game. So I don't think sitting him was the answer. The pick-six was a killer mistake, no denying that. But the drops were just as inexcusable, as well as numerous. The Lions were the indoor team, playing outdoors for the first time all year, in the rain no less, and didn't drop a pass. It goes to focus and concentration (more on that later). If the passes that should be caught are caught, the Packers aren't down 10-3 with a minute left in the first half and maybe Love isn't pressing so hard to make a play that ends up swinging the game the wrong way. I'm not absolving him. He has to protect the ball better. A couple throws should've been better for easier catches, such as the one in the end zone to Wicks, and lack of practice this week may have factored there. My point is it's a team game and nothing happens in a vacuum. Everything that happens affects everything else.

Allen from Batavia, IL

Which of the two teams play in a dome? Based on Sunday's performance, I would have guessed it was the Packers, if I didn't know any better.

Valid.

Michael from Titletown, WI

Maybe you guys aren't looking ahead to the next game against the Lions, but I am, and I predict we play better and lose bigger than we did this time. Maybe we'll be a wild-card team, but we're not catching up to Detroit. Not this year. And if you wanna belittle me, I'll save this letter and resubmit it when our season ends.

You can take a defeatist attitude if you wish. I couldn't care less. I make no bones about the fact that the Packers are in a really tough spot in the division now. I laid out that scenario in this column Friday and reiterated it after the loss was reality. The Lions are the clear frontrunner. In the NFC North catbird seat, if you will. But I also know the Packers were outplayed to a greater degree in the first Lions game last year, many people felt as you did, and this team got its act together for the rematch in Detroit. I don't know if that can happen again this year. All I know is the players and coaches in that locker room don't think like you do.

Scott from Eau Claire, WI

Hi guys, hats off to the Lions. They are clearly the better team and the best team in the NFL. With that being said and as much as I love Coach and Love and team, we are incredibly undisciplined. If there is one theme with Coach M, it is his teams have too many penalties and focus and discipline mistakes. I feel it is about culture and accountability and it spills over. Thank you.

The penalties were ridiculous Sunday. No argument there. But I think we have to distinguish between discipline in the sportsmanlike realm (the personal foul on the opening kickoff) and discipline at the line of scrimmage (false starts, offside, etc.). I don't think they should be lumped together. I think the former is an issue for a few players on this team. The latter has been practically across the board, which speaks to a lack of focus and concentration. Whatever the case, both have to stop. But I don't think this team has a "culture" problem as far as lack of discipline of the first variety. It's the second one that's the larger issue, and easily correctible.

Marin from West Lawn, PA

Besides preparing for Chicago, what will the coaching staff specifically focus on addressing during the bye week?

They have to figure out a way to coach the pre-snap penalties and dropped passes out of these guys, because the current methods clearly aren't getting the job done. I suspect some coaching creativity will be required.

Jeff from Mequon, WI

Well Mike, we ran into a very talented and disciplined team and although we are talented we were not very disciplined. Lions are playing some great ball right now and we are clearly still figuring things out. My concerns are mostly this – we are not seeing the production from our recent high draft picks that we could be. The run defense leaves a lot to be desired. Pass rush is hot and cold. Coverage breakdowns at critical moments. Thoughts?

I'm surprised you're rattling off all these things regarding the defense. Against a juggernaut averaging 40-plus points per game over the last month, that was a winning performance on defense – just 261 yards, 17 points allowed, both touchdowns on fourth downs (when other teams might've kicked field goals), four punts in the first seven possessions. Plenty of good. The run defense had a few rough moments, most notably on the Gibbs fourth-down TD run, but on balance it didn't get gashed on the ground by two pretty good backs and a stout O-line. Even with the pick-six, if you had told me before the game the Lions were only going to score 24 in this game, I would've predicted a Packers victory. I felt going into the game the Lions' defense was vulnerable and could be scored upon. I think it was. The Packers just couldn't get out of their own way to do so.

Tucker from Belton, TX

I'm not trying to be the glass is half full guy here, but I didn't find myself overly discouraged at the result of the game. Disappointed, yes. Discouraged, not really. I realize that game wasn't as close as the score suggests, but the Packers are beating themselves out there. The Packers can fix it, they just haven't. While very frustrating, it's better than having no hope.

I can't recall a game full of so many unforced errors. Ever. This team needs to get healthy over the bye. Not just because of the key players who have missed games, including this one. But because that performance looked like a team that hasn't practiced enough together, and when every week there's this long injury list of guys missing practices or having reps limited, it's going to catch up to you performance-wise, eventually. That's what it looked like to me. I realize there's a fine line between players getting their bodies back and getting the work needed to perform at a peak level. It's an ongoing battle. There are no magic answers. So get healthy, get off the injury report, and let's see what this team can do.

Dave from Hollywood, MD

In a game they needed to minimize mistakes to win, they failed miserably. We've seen the mistakes all too often this season – penalties at the most inopportune times, dropped passes, another crucial interception, and missed tackles. New for this game were multiple poor snaps from center. Can we expect improvement this season or is this our fate?

Resignation is also defeatist. It's not productive. It was a miserable failure, to use your words, and many of the same mistakes that have regularly cropped up. There's work to do. Last year at this point, the Packers were 3-6 and seemingly going nowhere. We all know how things changed. This year they're 6-3 and what needs to be fixed is obvious.

Howard from Appleton, WI

I read Mike's piece about Holmgren and the coaches' spot in the HOF. Was anyone else struck by the quality of the coaches on that list of nine semifinalists? Having followed the NFL since the 1960s, many (probably most) of them seem to me to be no-brainer HOF coaches: Knox, Reeves, Shanahan, etc.

It is an impressive list, for sure. I don't see Holmgren getting in before Shanahan or Coughlin, just based on Super Bowl victories (right or wrong). But after that, anything goes. I do see most if not all of those nine coaches getting in eventually.

Mike from Hastings, MN

Regarding Garrett Wilson's catch, John Madden wrote the book titled, "One Knee Equals Two Feet." Good enough?

Several folks mentioned this. But Mutt here from a little ways up the road from you has an interesting point to make.

Mutt from Blaine, MN

A toe inbounds followed by the heel out of bounds is not a catch, but a shin inbounds followed by a knee out of bounds is a catch. I don't get it and it didn't look right. Heck of a catch, but I don't like it. Hope you had a Happy Halloween.

I was intrigued when you raised this. Then my brain started to hurt.

Andrew from Chicago, IL

At least there is no shortage of things to work on during the bye week.

No lie told.

Rich from Haffelfeld, CA

Just when I give Mike credit for being the adult in the room, he goes and spouts off a sarcastic response to Dan from Richmond who disagrees with something he said. There's no question you guys get an eyeful of letters that get under your collar, but you signed up for it and don't handle it well. You prove all too often to be as cranky as those you shoot arrows back at and what does it get you except the last word? Could it be that the last word is why you two bother to answer those letters?

Well, of course. That's our prerogative. Look, I'm all for a good strategic debate, but not where one doesn't belong. That said, I'll confess I've really needed this bye week to get here.

Charles from New Berlin, WI

Hello IIboxers, just an observation. One game does not a season make. I surely would have liked to have seen a better performance but I still believe in this team. The off week couldn't have come at a better time. Time to get healthy and make a run. GO PACK GO!

All that matters now is the response. In this case it's a long-awaited response, but it doesn't make it any less important.

Dale from Prescott, WI

Got nuttin' for ya after that … Extra week of rest and just beat da Bears.

Happy Monday.