Inbox: He didn't arrive as such

Thomas from Cedar Rapids, IA

I thought it was a monkey on the back and an elephant in the room. Guess I should give up my lifelong dream of becoming a zookeeper.

And away we go …

Al from Green Bay, WI

One night, Mark Murphy has a dream in which the football IQ of Packers fans increases dramatically. Inspired, the next morning he summons team Spoff/Hod and instructs you to teach an online college-level course entitled "Football IQ." This course is free, and available only on packers.com. What is the central theme, and what does the syllabus look like?

Remember that opening line from Lombardi, "Gentlemen, this is a football"? Well, I'd start with something like, "Folks, this isn't fantasy football."

Ron from Attica, OH

Is the 99-yard score from scrimmage one of those unbreakable records? Or would the NFL give credit for a 100-yard score from scrimmage? Don't recall an announcer ever saying, "They are starting at their own zero-yard line … " Thank you for all you do to make the Inbox informative, fun, and for avoiding rumor mill-based drama.

99 is and forever will be the NFL record for a rushing or receiving TD. I still remember watching Tony Dorsett's run for Dallas on a Monday night at the Metrodome, the first 99-yarder on the ground.

Tim from Escanaba, MI

John (from Beloit, OH) asked what is the longest Packer TD, and who did it. I believe the correct answer is 108 yards by Randall Cobb (kickoff return). What say you?

That is correct if not looking strictly at plays from scrimmage. Several readers brought that up. Patrick from Rockford also mentioned George Teague's 101-yard INT return for a TD in the '93 wild-card game at Detroit (Jan. '94), which is still an NFL playoff record for an interception return, one yard longer than James Harrison's in the Super Bowl.

David from Janesville, WI

Gents, Wes's answer about Romeo Doubs being the best pure pass catcher on the team is spot on in my book. What I love is the way he snatches the ball out of the air with his hands. It seems those who cradle the ball between chest and forearms to make a catch are more susceptible to drops. I got to see Romeo's game winner vs. the Chargers last season from that end zone. He reached late, gripped, and pulled in without giving the defender much if any chance to knock it out. Heckofa toss by Love too.

I agree with Wes the answer to yesterday's question is Doubs, but he's made himself into the best pure pass catcher on the team. He didn't arrive as such. He had some rough drops as a rookie in some big spots and has quickly made people forget them, which is to his credit.

Tim from Charlotte, NC

Speaking of Doubs, I love the way he goes about his business. Catches the ball, flips it to the ref and goes back to the huddle. No bravado, no "first down signal, no flex. Just moves on to the next play. Team first attitude. I know, I am old school and won't apologize for it.

Well, Doubs did launch that ball into the stands in Carolina last Christmas Eve after a touchdown. Maybe he was just in a Santa-giving mood. But on balance, I agree with you.

John from Palmdale, CA

Re: the guy who thought getting Whitney Mercilus was a bad move. If he doesn't get hurt and the others heal, we're looking at an edge-rushing rotation of him, the Smith brothers and Rashan Gary. I was drooling at the prospect.

Me, too.

Craig from Los Angeles, CA

I thought it was big news when we found out Kingsley Enagbare didn't need surgery and he had a green light. But after that report, I never saw his name mentioned in any articles this spring. Has he been underwhelming in practice? Or not a full participant? What can you tell us about his status, and what you've observed of him so far?

Wes and I discussed him plenty on "Unscripted." He was full-go through minicamp and doing just fine. But I don't put much stock in pass rusher/pass blocker performance without pads on.

Joe from Liberty Township, OH

Earlier in the offseason I saw numerous clickbait articles suggesting the Packers trade a young receiver (or two) plus draft pick(s) for Tee Higgins. Now the articles clamor for CeeDee Lamb or Brandon Aiyuk. No thanks! Why would Gutey want to trade away young talent on a rookie contract, give up draft capital, and then take on a $25-30 million (or more) WR contract? Makes no sense. And sadly, as much as I'd love to see Tae back in Green Bay, the same argument applies.

It makes zero sense, which also applies to anyone's interest in reading such useless drivel.

Joshua from Milwaukee, WI

With apologies to our talented receiver group, can we pump the brakes a bit? They're a talented group that offers lots of depth, but now we're submitting questions about trading one of them? None of them has had a thousand-yard season yet. What kind of return would a trade realistically yield? They'll be a good group. Let's just leave it at that.

Thank you. That depth will have more value to the Packers than anything those players, at a position of abundance league-wide, can provide to any other team.

Bob from Norcross, GA

It seems like the Pack's roster is stacked at least two deep for almost all positions with either a quality veteran or a promising youngster. Outside of QB where Sean Clifford with no real game experience and rookie Michael Pratt back up JL, where do you think our depth will be most tested?

Wherever injuries hit the hardest.

Jeff from Indian Lake, NY

Came across a list of first-round picks from 1988 somehow. Most striking thing to me, five RBs selected and not a SINGLE QB taken! If that doesn't show how much the game has changed, I don't know what does. I also was still three years away from being born in 1988 so I have that going for me, which is nice. Maybe. TBD.

It's crazy, there were only two QBs taken in the first five rounds of the '88 draft. Two. In five rounds. Ohio State's Tom Tupa (who was also a punter) and Washington's Chris Chandler, both in the third round. The next QB didn't get picked until the sixth. The Packers took a QB that year, in the 10th round. Wisconsin's Bud Keyes.

John from San Diego, CA

Good morning fellas, sometime around 2017 the Packers hired a new assistant coach whose name escapes me. With him, he brought a tool known as the chutes. Recently, I noticed the chutes being utilized with the offensive skill players. I distinctly recall the chutes being used for the linemen. I'm curious to know how extensive the chutes are being used now within the overall team framework and if you know if other teams are using them?

I can't speak to leaguewide usage, but if memory serves, they came to Green Bay when Mike Solari was hired as an assistant offensive line coach in 2015. Solari is currently McCarthy's O-line coach down in Dallas.

Lori from Brookfield, WI

Would you please explain why it is advantageous to have synchronicity between the play caller and the QB, as opposed to just having the QB take his lead from the play caller?

Because if the play caller knows what plays his QB likes best and/or is most comfortable with, he's able to put him in the best position for success in the most crucial moments.

Mike from Niles, IL

Seems like quite a few fans and such are almost giving up on Christian Watson. Not me. I still believe he's a "must keeper." Also, I think Zach Tom and Quay Walker are not far behind. Just hope they all stay healthy and have good seasons!

They all could be, for sure. We'll know more after 2024.

Steve from Middletown, KY

Good morning. The new kickoff rule creates a lot of speculation on how it will go until we see what teams will actually try. No reason to get real cute with it, but would kicking it high and/or to the edge keep the returner's eyes diverted from the field of play? The edge just makes sense to me to possibly reduce the size of the field for the returner. GPG

Eyes diverted won't matter because everyone is stationary until the ball is caught. The corner could be a strategy but that adds to the risk of kicking it out of bounds. We shall see.

Dan from Maquoketa, IA

On the kickoff rule, the receiving blockers would have to be looking backwards to see the catch, putting them at a bit of a disadvantage. Could a coach on the sidelines line up in front of the blocker line and signal the catch, or is something like that illegal?

All the blockers have to do is react to the coverage player in front of them when they move.

Craig from Appleton, WI

Wes replied on Tuesday that depending how the starting five shakes out on the OL could change who won the reserve spots. How so? I always assumed the best eight or nine were kept on the active roster and a few extras to the practice squad.

Positional versatility is a major factor in depth decisions up front.

Cindy from Mesa, AZ

Hello! When other sports outlets take your Packers content (such as Pro Football Talk's article on Preston Smith) and produce a more or less word-for-word copy on their site, do you get any compensation for that?

Ha, nope, but as long as they provide a link to the story and proper credit, which PFT routinely does, that's all we can ask. Hopefully some people actually clicked to visit our site for the whole story rather than be satisfied with the snippets.

Darren from Wakefield, MI

Hi Mike. What is your take on the Brewers' success so far this season? Are they overachievers? Sure are fun to watch. Was at Saturday's game and called Ortiz's homer before it happened. I was very pleasantly surprised.

Given all the injuries to their starting pitching and their sudden dearth of hitting with RISP, they are definitely overachieving, but I'm not complaining. Like football, the baseball season is a marathon so I have no idea if they can keep it up, but I'm going to enjoy watching them try. I plan to catch the Texas series next week in Milwaukee.

Mike from Geneva, IL

Mike, as a journalist and Miracle on Ice fan, then you should read "The Boys of Winter" if you haven't already done so. The book introduces all of the U.S. players and many other critical people with individual biographies while following the flow of the game. I highly recommend it for you!

Already read it, long ago. I've also read Eruzione's autobiography. All good stuff.

Richard from Madison, WI

One subtle scene in "Miracle" was done marvelously well. Time was winding down, the USA team had the lead, and their assistant coaches were planning how to respond when the Soviet coach pulled his goalie. Time continued to tick past, and he didn't do it. One of the American coaches looked at the other in wonderment and said, "He doesn't know what to do!" And then you realize that it was because the CCCP team had been so unbelievably dominant over the previous decade that he had never ever HAD to!

A great scene indeed, from a great movie, but I question its veracity. Remember after the endless sprints Brooks made them skate following that poor performance in Norway, and he allows them to stop only after Eruzione answers the "Who do you play for?" question without naming his college but instead saying "the United States of America"? Eruzione said that never happened. All the gassers, and even the lights being turned out in the Norway arena, were true. But not that bit of dialogue.

Ed from Tucson, AZ

Since we're now in the dead zone let's have some fun! Would you rather dance in the rain, ride on a train, or... well (heck), how many more days until kickoff?

Happy Wednesday.