Tim from Augusta, WI

If Spoff is going to answer all of life's questions on Monday, does that mean he will achieve total enlightenment over the weekend?

I wish.

Eric from Kenosha, WI

Billy in his mom's basement would like to know, does the Packers making pretend trades on the internet count as something happening while Spoff is gone?

Talk about a Friday of conflicting reports, huh?

Shilo from Wildomar, CA

How'd you break your leg, Mike?

Playing volleyball. Landed awkwardly on someone else's leg/foot from across the other side of the net. I actually didn't know the fibula was cracked, but the leg was in bad shape. Indoor baseball practice was starting in a couple weeks, so I had the trainers look at it and they figured I wrecked all the ligaments and tendons in the ankle. I started a rigorous rehab program right away, which I then did every day before practice. After six weeks, it was still pretty painful, so I finally gave in and got it x-rayed. Lo and behold, the doc walks in the room with the film and he's laughing. "Your leg's been broken this whole time." It wasn't a full or clean break, but what's called a greenstick fracture. Anyway, it was healing fine and he said if I get to the eight-week mark and it still hurts, come back and see him, otherwise the pain should subside by then and I'd be good. I certainly learned my pain tolerance was pretty high. I also considered the whole episode a blessing in disguise, because if I'd had the leg casted I probably would have lost my starting outfield spot. That turned out to be my best year of college ball. I hit around .290.

Dan from Minneapolis, MN

I welcome the Packers' new policy of cancelling season tickets of account holders who have resold all their tickets for a number of consecutive seasons. Is there any clarity on how many Gold & Green seats have opened up to those on the waiting list(s) as a result?

I'm don't know any specific numbers, nor do I know all the details of the policy, but I think it's a good one, too.

Mitch from Eagle River, WI

Mike, could you please elaborate as to why you don't think the tush push is a football play? Teams snap the ball, the quarterback tries to advance the ball forward as is the case on every other play. Offensive players push other ball carriers to help advance the ball on many plays through out every game. Why specifically is pushing a ball carrier not a football play?

It was against the rules for decades, for good reason in my opinion. The game was much better with the rule against assisting the runner in place. It's supposed to be about blocking and tackling, not pushing and shoving. The scrums that push ball carriers downfield an extra several yards aren't football, either.

Brian from Fort Atkinson, WI

Good morning, I don't understand what the proposed getting rid of the chain gang will actually do to help get calls right. In the Buffalo playoff game, the problem wasn't the measurement, it was the fact the two side judges came in a half yard apart to spot the ball and they decided to use the shorter measurement. It appeared on review that was the wrong one to use for the spot. The spotting of the ball correctly is the problem, not measuring for a first down. What am I missing?

I'm with you. Feel the same way.

Bill from Raleigh, NC

Hi Mike, Wes's Friday response was great. "If you want to win, maybe have a bit more success the first three quarters. It's a pro football game, not an 'Avengers' movie building to a climax." In basketball do we have a jump ball after every made basket in the fourth quarter? If the onside kick needs to continue for historical reasons then let it remain successful a very low percentage of the time. The winning team is winning because they played better and that's how it should be.

It's worth asking the question whether the opportunity for the team that scores to keep the ball needs to exist. Maybe it doesn't. Perhaps the mandate should be, if you want to be able to get the ball back in the last couple minutes, keep your timeouts.

Dale from Owatonna, MN

Great answer to the first question Friday…don't come back eight months from now like you knew. One thing I can predict: The front office before the draft will have signed a corner, a wide receiver, and both offensive and defensive lineman. They have consistently avoided being boxed in so they feel comfortable taking the top player on the board when it is time to draft and it allows them to move up and down to get their guys without reaching because of need.

That would be a lot of boxes to check in one free-agency period, so I don't know if they'll get ALL that. But I agree with you Gutey does his best to have a pre-draft roster that doesn't box him in with regard to need. He's regularly operated that way.

Alex from Dallas, TX

Wes's comments on tilting the game towards the offense are valid. I'm curious how fans can compare the old-school lockdown defenses to a premier defense today? I would think that comparing something like yards or points allowed needs a handicap to make it fungible comparing defenses across eras? Is averaging 12 points a game in the '70s comparable to 18 in the modern game?

I don't know how to handicap it to compare eras. Maybe an accomplished mathematician could study it and figure something out. But in looking up the numbers, it's hard to believe we'll ever see defenses as good as the '76 Steelers (9.9 points per game, 260 yards per game), '85 Bears (12.4 ppg, 258 ypg) or '00 Ravens (10.3 ppg, 248 ypg) ever again.

Bob from Valencia, CA

Deebo, who was the 36th pick in his draft class, just went for a fifth-rounder. And the Packers, needing a WR, couldn't beat that deal? Something's not adding up here. Please enlighten me.

My educated guess is Gutey wasn't interested in taking on Samuel's contract, which pays him around $17.5M this year. The Commanders only had to give up a fifth-rounder for him because they didn't ask the Niners to pay any of his remaining salary.

Hank from Centennial, CO

Injury-plagued careers are no fun for any of the stakeholders – the players, the team, the fans. Since the start of Bakhtiari's contract and then running through Alexander's, the Packers shelled out many tens of millions of dollars for just a few total games played. I don't know if that's more bad luck than other teams have suffered, but I do think it speaks highly of management's approach that the team was still very competitive even with those huge salary cap dents.

Very true.

Caroline from Olympia, WA

Why not restructure Alexander's contract?

It's a possibility, but he would have to agree to it, and he could just demand to be released if he felt he could get more money elsewhere than the restructure would offer.

Phil from Marietta, GA

Can you please explain the benefit of a possible trade or release of Jaire Alexander? If he's not a Packer in 2025, the team saves somewhat over 6 million. That sum would VERY unlikely be enough to sign a player who might be as significant a difference maker as No. 23, who is one of the best corners in the league when healthy. For a 6 million investment it seems well worth the gamble on a year of shutdown DB play. So how does this potentiality make sense?

An extra $6M in cap space is plenty to sign a significant free agent. The Packers structured Josh Jacobs' contract last year to have a $5.3M cap charge in Year 1, and Xavier McKinney's was $7.8M. They knew they had a pile of dead money coming off the books in 2025, so they structured those deals accordingly. Also, if Alexander is traded or released, it removes his '26 salary of nearly $20M from the ledger as well.

Jason from Olive Branch, MS

Hello. I just read the article on Nixon and his expanded 2024 role on D. It got me wondering, can a team monetarily reward a player for efforts that went above and beyond their role? I mean outside of a new contract. Are there allowable "spot" awards?

Not really. Not without adjusting the contract and counting any extra pay on the cap.

Bob from Covington, KY

Hi, guys. I'd think cornerback has to be the top position of need this offseason. Other positions mentioned all have players with room for growth. At CB, it's likely that Alexander will be gone (or hurt half the season) and Eric Stokes will never reach his freshman promise. Behind Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine, proven depth is lacking. Cornerback needs the same sort of makeover this year that safety got last year. But is the talent available in free agents and/or the draft to do so?

Corner doesn't need the same makeover safety did, not with Nixon and Valentine in the fold. But it does need due attention, and I think it'll get that, both in free agency and the draft. I think Gutey will bring in corners via both avenues.

John from Stevens Point, WI

What's more important, the quality/talent of the player or the quality of the human being when it comes to drafting football players? How much credence/importance do NFL personnel directors put on the combine in-person interviews? Do you personally know of any instances where information gleaned from an in-person interview caused the Packers to steer away from a player that was otherwise on their draft board?

I'm sure it's happened but that's never been shared with me. The interviews give clubs the best look into whether the player fits the culture and locker room. Teams want players that fit for the benefit of not only the club, but also the player, who needs the right environment to maximize on his talent.

David from Oak Hills, CA

MM mentioned in MT5 that Indianapolis is one of his favorite cities and the perfect city to host the combine. And his sentiment seems to be felt across the league by GMs and coaches. For those of us who've never been to Indianapolis, what makes it such a special city and the "perfect city" to host the combine?

All the downtown hotels are centrally located and connected, via skywalks and/or tunnels, to the convention center, which is connected to Lucas Oil Stadium. The convention center and the stadium are where almost all the combine activities take place. Anyone who's there for the combine can get anywhere they need to go by walking, and most of the time without even going outside.

Mike from New Orleans, LA

Sorry to keep harping on the topic, and I know these are only projections and opinions, but I seem to remember unnamed Packers scouts saying they think Zach Tom could be a Pro Bowl-caliber tackle, and Hall-of-Fame (or was it All-Pro) caliber center. If that truly is the sentiment on his abilities, why on God's green earth would we not move him to center? Is it that tackles are so much harder to find? Josh Myers was just as good? I just don't understand. Thanks.

Elite-level tackles are much harder to find. That's why a sizable majority of offensive linemen drafted high are tackles. Since 2010, there have been 95 first-round picks on the O-line – nine centers, 24 guards and 62 tackles.

Chris from Waukesha, WI

I read about the Packers' goal of a full season of play from Edgerrin Cooper. Given his performance in the limited time he had on field, there's every reason to hope the defense would be so much better. However, it seemed that every key Packer player missed at least one game last season. How many players appeared in every game in 2024? Is it realistic to expect players to play 17 games plus playoffs nowadays? Going to 18 regular-season games could only make that more difficult.

Amongst full-time starters last season, the Packers had 11 play all 17 regular-season games ( Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, Jacobs, Elgton Jenkins, Tucker Kraft, Isaiah McDuffie, McKinney, Sean Rhyan, T.J. Slaton, Tom, Rasheed Walker). They also had eight others who played in every game ( Karl Brooks, Kingsley Enagbare, Ty'Ron Hopper, Stokes, Daniel Whelan, Dontayvion Wicks, Emanuel Wilson, Eric Wilson).

Nathan from Manitowoc, WI

Do you think the increase in the salary cap affects the Packers' decision either way on picking up the fifth-year options on Wyatt or Walker?

No. Gutey noted in Indy the LB option might be too high because of the edge rushers in the equation, but he views Walker as a long-term piece on defense. Same for Wyatt, but the fifth-year option number is a little more palatable for his position so that one might be exercised. Either way, the Packers make those decisions based on their value calculations, not how much cap room they have.

Michael from Novato, CA

Dale's story of Lofton's reverse TD, with McCarren's block reminded me of the single greatest catch I've ever seen (and I saw it in person). Lofton's TD catch from Dickey in the '81 game against the Rams. It wasn't that it was a twisting, writhing catch, but that he was running in stride, through the end zone and reached out and snatched it, almost effortlessly, with one hand. If Payton was Sweetness, Lofton was Smoothness. Also, McCarren threw a nice block, to give Dickey just enough time.

I like that Sweetness/Smoothness usage.

James from Appleton, WI

The key to what Brian Gutekunst will do is that, while there are 32 picks in the first round, there may be only 20-25 players Gutey considers actual first-rounders. If he's guaranteed one, he'll stay where he is. If he can move up a little to get one, he'll do that. If they're all gone, he'll try to trade down to get an extra pick. So, you don't have to copy the entire draft board. Just get us the names of those 20-25 guys, OK?

I'll get right on that. Happy Monday.