Inbox: It's an incredible opportunity

Chas from Modena, WI

How healthy are the Packers going to be for the Bears game after the bye week?

Hopefully healthier than they are today and the day after tomorrow.

H.R. from Henderson, NV

Well, that was unexpected. But business is business. Nothing but respect and thanks for Preston Smith for what he did while he was here. Nothing but love, and I hope he has a great time in Pittsburgh. Except if/when he plays the Packers, of course.

I couldn't agree more. The 2019 free agent class obviously was instrumental in the Packers' rapid turnaround. Za'Darius Smith, Adrian Amos and Billy Turner should all be commended for what they gave to Green Bay, but an argument can be made Preston was the MVP of that group. He was a playmaker, a leader and astonishingly durable. Preston never wore a captain's patch, but everyone knew what he meant to that locker room. I had a blast covering P, too. Wishing him nothing but the best with the Steelers.

Ryan from Chippewa Falls, WI

I will miss Preston. What a class football player on and off the field, of which I will reminisce after this season. The immediate thought is I would like to see Lukas Van Ness step in and fill these shoes with some authority.

It's an incredible opportunity. The Packers traded a pass rusher who's played more than 4,200 snaps in 91 games here (46.6-snap average). Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare most likely will see their workload increase, along with Brenton Cox Jr. and Arron Mosby.

Ray from Phoenix, AZ

We should all understand that the Preston Smith trade was both a philosophy and financial move. So, who becomes the starter in the base 4-3: Lukas Van Ness or Kingsley Enagbare?

Semantics. Van Ness and Enagbare have played virtually the same number of snaps (243 Enagbare, 233 Van Ness) and both are gonna play even more now.

Domenick from Hilton Head Island, SC

Basically, Brian Gutekunst traded Smith for Malik Willis and saved big salary towards the cap in 2025 and 2026. Do you agree?

More or less. Preston told reporters in Pittsburgh on Wednesday he requested a trade a few weeks ago, feeling he was a better fit for a 3-4 front. He gets his wish with the Steelers while the Packers can mix it up at defensive end.

Basil from Nags Head, NC

My wife and I from NC, and our son in Tampa all attended the game Sunday. We left soaked and disappointed. However, after we dried off and talked about the current record, my son asked me, if you were asked before the season that GB would be 6-3 heading into the bye, and then consider Jordan Love missed two full games, would you have taken that? Absolutely. 6-3 this season vs. 3-6 last year at this point. Would you have taken 6-3 going into the bye?

Absolutely. Wins are the currency with which you purchase your spot in the postseason. The Packers have six with eight more chances to add to that total beginning next week. In that regard, Green Bay is twice as far ahead as it was last year.

Bruce from Jackson, WI

Wes, I just finished reading your article on Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney and you captured what we have all witnessed. Now if we could just get the rest of the team to play with the same intensity and focus everything else will work its way out. GPG!

I'd say the intensity is there. This team plays hard. Focus and discipline is what needs to be the emphasis during the second half. If the Packers are moving forward and not backwards on the field, I like their chances against anybody.

Steve from Ankeny, IA

I was amazed at Spoff's comment that six drops were by five different players, and nine penalties were by eight different players. To me, this is clearly a coaching/preparation problem, not one or two guys that are a serious problem. My expectation is that in two weeks we will see a totally different, healthy, focused team take the field. Can't wait for the ride!

As frustrating as penalties can be, I'd still rather have an overabundance of correctable mistakes than a dearth of talent. The Packers have the playmakers. I firmly believe they can win a Super Bowl with this roster, but they gotta get a handle on the mental errors.

Sean from Union Grove, WI

Should we expect the same second-half dominance from Jordan Love as we got last year? He has thrown a lot of bad interceptions thus far this year, are we confident those will be corrected?

Echoing what Spoff has stated repeatedly, Love just needs to get back to a place where his time is spent more on the practice field than the training room. We haven't seen the best version of Love because Love has not yet been his best self, physically.

Alex from Rockford, IL

In reading your piece about the marquee free agent pickups this year, I was surprised to see how many yards Josh Jacobs has already racked up. When was the last time the Packers had a 1,000-yard rusher in a season? Or a 1,500-plus yard rusher?

Aaron Jones rushed for 1,000 yards two years ago, but the Packers have only had one 1,500-yard rusher in their history: 2003 when Ahman Green rushed for 1,883 yards and 15 TDs. To be fair, Jim Taylor likely would've reached 1,500 yards in 1962 if the NFL was playing 16/17 regular-season games back then. Taylor had 1,474 yards in 14 games.

Steve from Phoenix, AZ

To build on Chase from Carmichael's point about learning from a drubbing. The Raiders went into a wet KC on Xmas last year and bullied the Chiefs from the start. KC had a mistake-filled day being held to 14 points. I remember Andy Reid saying that was an important game for them. The Chiefs played through adversity later that year on their road to another Super Bowl victory.

Again, the NFL is a game of constant improvement that requires victories along the way to best position yourself for the postseason. The Chiefs are the perfect example of that. Kansas City may not have been the best team in the NFL for three-quarters of the 2023 season, but it sure was by February.

Craig from Sussex, WI

I was paging through the 2023 Packers Yearbook in a waiting room the other day and I couldn't believe how many players listed on that team that are no longer on this team!

Life moves pretty fast. I was reflecting the other day how only four players remain from Matt LaFleur's first year as head coach in 2019 ( Kenny Clark, Jaire Alexander, Rashan Gary and Elgton Jenkins) and five from his second in 2020 (Jordan Love).

Ryan from Baldwin, WI

Good morning. Are you concerned about the lack of pressure it seems that the defense is putting on the quarterback? I was hoping that the Packers were going to look for some help during the trade deadline.

Concerned isn't the word for it. The Packers certainly need more. The scheme is very creative and helps put defenders in position to make plays. It goes back to guys winning their one-on-ones. Sacks and QB hits aren't the be-all, end-all. For me, I want to see those pressure numbers increase because that often is what leads to poor QB decisions.

Jim from Hudsonville, MI

I'm not advocating this, but if a team, or coach, wanted to have additional practices during a bye week, would the league allow it? Or the CBA?

You can practice Monday through Wednesday, but teams often give their players the week off other than film review. The CBA mandates players are off from Thursday through Sunday during the bye.

Steve from Scranton, PA

Wes, you mentioned on “Packers Unscripted” how efficient the Detroit offense appeared. Goff rarely threw an incompletion, although I can't remember more than a few plays where he threw the ball more than 8-10 yards downfield. They reminded me a bit of the New England teams with Tom Brady – mistake-free methodical drives behind a strong O-line, with maybe even better skill position players at RB/WR than the Patriots had. The silver lining is that the Packers' D held them to 17 points without two starters.

Bingo. I tip my cap to everything Detroit did offensively but also acknowledge Goff didn't make any plays that wowed me. He managed the offense and made the throws he had to make. That type of efficiency is all the Lions are asking for from their QB given the construct of the offense.

Sam from Ronan, MT

Watching Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams ice the game with their touchdown against the Texans brought back several fond moments from their Green Bay days. Then I found a highlight video of Rodgers and Jordy, and it made me think, "If we needed one play to win the game at any spot on the field, which duo would I want?" I couldn't decide, so now I want to ask the Insiders: Which duo would you take?

Davante Adams is the better player, but I don't know if there's any Packers wideout I want on the field more with the game on the line than Jordy. He was a true closer.

Shannon from Ovilla, TX

Was Sunday the proof that improvement is linear? Saints are bad and fired their coach. Any chance our Monday night game against them will be moved due to these factors?

Perhaps. If the Packers are in contention, it wouldn't hurt to have an extra day to rest before the trip to Minneapolis. It takes quite a bit to flex the Green and Gold out of primetime, though. I can only think of one occasion that it's happened (vs. Atlanta in 2018) during my time covering the team.

Jon from Soldiers Grove, WI

Resilience is good. But it needs to be used to overcome adversity that isn't primarily self-inflicted.

Ideally.

Jim from Cedar Rapids, IA

Best wishes to Preston Smith. My question, is he going to miss out on having a bye week this year?

He will miss out. Pittsburgh was on bye last week. He'll play his former team, the Washington Commanders, on Sunday.

Al from Green Bay, WI

The most intriguing game this coming weekend is…

Detroit and Houston. The Lions begin a stretch of three consecutive AFC South matchups. It would help if they picked up a loss or two over that stretch. The Texans may need to pull a rabbit out of their saddle, though.

Jeffrey from Eveleth, MN

Opening of deer season. Perfect time for a bye week.

May thy knife chip and shatter.

Dennis from Rhinelander, WI

Packers and Badgers both have byes this weekend. What to do, what to do?

Hang with family? Rake leaves? Buy a car?

Mark from Jefferson, WI

What do we have to do to win this week?

Get some sleep.