Benjamin from Burlington, VT

"I'm actually starting to miss him." C'mon, Mike! Now *you're* the one feeding his ego! Never let your lunch-provider negotiate from a position of strength! (– Sun Tzu or something)

Duly noted.

Dave from Lake Zurich, IL

I suppose this is a Dead Zone comment but Green Bay was recently determined to be the "drunkest" city in the country. Eau Claire, Appleton, and Madison rounded out the top four. Seven of the top 10 are Wisconsin cities.

Your point?

Jason from Austin, TX

I heard that Brandon Aiyuk has officially requested a trade. I'll add that to my list, along with tsunamis, hurricanes and 100-degree weather in February, with things that shouldn't concern anyone in the state of Wisconsin. Has training camp started yet?

The Niners apparently have no interest in trading Aiyuk. He's on his fifth-year option and the Niners would like to take advantage of that. They just gave McCaffrey big money, plus they have Samuel and Kittle, and they'll have to pay Purdy after this year. There's only so much offensive perimeter money one team can throw around.

Bill from Clive, IA

When the center points and makes his call to identify the middle LB, does the QB ever disagree and override that call? I could swear that I heard AR12 do that more than once. Given that QBs analyze defensive alignments quickly, too, does the QB have the final say?

Sometimes the QB does disagree and overrides the center's call. It's not about right or wrong, necessarily, but how the protection call will work best based on who's declared the mike within the defense's current alignment. In the end, the key is not who's actually the mike, but that everyone in the protection unit is on the same page and working off the same mike.

Ron from Mitchell, SD

I saw a short video of a play from last season. JL10 dropped back, faked a throw to his left, turned and faked a throw to his right, then rifled a bullet over the middle to Luke Musgrave, I believe, for the touchdown. That brought to mind all the times we had receivers running wide open last season. Sometimes the defender wasn't even in the picture. I can't wait to see what Coach LaFleur comes up with this season, with a season under their belts and a better idea of their strengths. GPG!

I wrote this story over two months ago (https://www.packers.com/news/one-year-later-packers-offensive-preparations-in-very-different-place) based on that very premise.

Mark from Carlsville, WI

Piggybacking on Mike's answer Monday about watching plays, it makes it difficult when watching on TV because you can't always see the uniform number of receivers so not sure it there is one, two or even three tight ends. At least I find it difficult. Tough enough with the Pack but even more difficult with the opponent because we don't always know the uniform number of all tight ends, wide receivers and running backs, especially with every number being in play for all positions. Suggestions?

Those are legitimate obstacles, and it's nearly impossible to follow everything in real time, even from the birds' eye view of the press box. If you have the opportunity to record the game, it can be enlightening to go back and watch key plays to try to decipher personnel and strategy. Or watch for it when viewing highlights, rather than just watch the main action of the play again.

Craig from Sussex, WI

Bear Bryant had Joe Namath play safety on occasion so he could see the field from a reverse angle. Not a bad idea as long as J. Love only does this in practice with a red shirt on.

These days a QB pretty much gets that look by reviewing the film shot from the end-zone camera behind the defense.

Brandon from Cincinnati, OH

Regarding the QB2 battle, what characteristics define an ideal backup quarterback? Will Jordan Love have any input into this decision? Perhaps if he feels a particular player helps him prepare better throughout the season?

I don't expect Love to have input. The personnel department will be examining two key aspects. (1) Which QB gives the Packers the best chance to win a game in Love's absence right now? (2) Which QB is the better long-term developmental prospect? If the answer to those two questions is different, or not clear-cut, perhaps both backups will make the 53.

Craig from Green Bay, WI

Do the Packers have a formal workout regime (physical exercise, diet, weight management, etc.) that the players who are under contract must follow during the offseason? Or, are they pretty much on their own to do whatever?

Players get plans and suggestions from here, while others have their own personal trainers and such.

Steve from Scranton, PA

Mike, interested in your take on these offseason positional "camps," where players across the league get together and run some drills, break down tape and discuss various techniques. Where does fraternization cross the line to sharing "company secrets"? I would think some assistant coaches may not be too pleased with their players discussing techniques/strategies they and their teammates were taught which may be unique to a specific organization.

Sharing training techniques/best practices and divulging playbook specifics are two different things. Even so, coaches are watching film from all over the league and stealing schemes and play designs from others all the time. There's very little that's unique to anybody these days.

Nicol from Baraboo, WI

What do you anticipate to be the team's biggest challenges/opportunities both inside the locker room and on the field heading into the 2024-25 season?

The biggest challenge in the locker room will not be much different than it usually is – balancing the daily competition for roster spots and playing time with staying cohesive as a team. It can be easier said than done. Last year, a very young team (especially offensively) navigated it quite well, but injuries also spread out the opportunities to contribute and everyone chipped in over the long haul. With better health, there won't be as many snaps to go around, so that could be something the players will have to manage internally. On the field, it comes down to handling both expectations and adversity. This squad did great with the latter in 2023, but there was little of the former. Picking up where they left off is not realistic, but there will be no grace for another 3-6 start. This team will be expected to look like a contender from the jump, and even if it starts fast, the only way to truly live up to contender status is to make another late surge. Can they put themselves in good position and then peak at the right time? That will define the season.

Sam from Antigo, WI

Regarding Driver being the best seventh-round pick ever. The Packers had two seventh-round picks that year and Driver was the second pick of those picks.

Correct. He was taken with a pick acquired from the Bears for return man Glyn Milburn. Against the Bears alone, Driver finished his career with 88 catches for 1,082 yards and three TDs in 24 games. Milburn returned a kickoff for a TD in his first game for the Bears against the Packers in Dec. 1998 and had a 49-yard rushing TD at Lambeau Field in '99, when he made All-Pro as a returner (and Driver had three catches for 31 yards his entire rookie season). That trade looked great for Chicago at first but swung significantly Green Bay's way over time.

Andrew from Columbus, OH

Speaking of Donald Driver, I recall that the Packers had a fourth-round grade on him. If they had him rated that high, why would they wait until the seventh to draft him? Not sure anyone knows the answer to that besides Ron Wolf. Would Gutey be privy to that info? The dates line up, but it looks like he spent most of 1998 with the Chiefs.

Maybe Wolf had better or similar grades on the guys he took in the middle rounds, too. Or after drafting Ohio State's Dee Miller in the sixth, wide receiver fell off the radar, but as the last of the Packers' 12 picks rolled around, there was nobody with a worthwhile grade left. I really don't know. I do remember Driver saying he started his rookie training camp something like 12th on the depth chart at receiver.

Craig from Weare, NH

Mike, you didn't include LT in your position battle list. Why not?

Nothing's set in stone, but based on what I saw this spring, I'd be surprised if Rasheed Walker isn't the offense's starting left tackle in Week 1.

Mark from Greenville, SC

As for Packers from small schools, it doesn't get much better than John Kuhn from Shippensburg!

Yes, he should've been on the short list of guys I've covered. My bad.

Markus from Sea Ranch, CA

"Ball Four" by Jim Bouton?

Yeah, that one's up there too.

John from Heber, UT

Mike, Craig (Sussex WI) mentioning Creamer's bio of Ruth helped me recall a class I took at the U. of Kansas back in the day called The Literature of Baseball, taught by Jim Seaver, Tom's uncle. Besides reading "Babe," we also read "The Kid From Tomkinsville," "You Know Me Al," "Bingo Long Traveling All Stars," "The Natural," "Bang The Drum Slowly," and others. We even had a guest lecture from none other than Marv Throneberry, who ran a liquor store in Kansas City. Best class I took in my four years there.

I would've failed that class just so I could take it again.

Dan from Grayslake, IL

Mike, you only saw one Brewers win last week but I'm assuming you watched Skenes' seven inning no-no. Impressive?

Beyond. He came as advertised and more. His pitch mix is phenomenal, unlike anything I've ever seen. I'm convinced he could be an All-Star with "just" his splitter, slider and changeup, but then he's got the triple-digit four-seamer and apparently has been working on a curveball, too. Unreal. He's gonna be a problem in the NL Central for a while.

Brian from Chesapeake, VA

So Spoff, how does it compare being a regular fan in the stands at a Brewer game vs. being on the job at a Packer game? Is it liberating letting your emotions show or is your nose buried in a scorecard pitch to pitch?

Both.

Bill from Bloomfield Hills, MI

Home-field advantage, HOF QB, high-priced free agents, first-round receivers, 4-3 vs. 3-4, early bye week, late bye week, get hot at the end of the season, be rested going into playoffs, great special teams, younger & faster, older & experienced, coaches from the right tree, clutch kicker, weak division you can dominate, tough schedule that hardens your team, elite talent at the four key positions...oh man so many ways to win the Super Bowl aren't there? For every rule there's an exception, just get in and believe!

It's still mid-July, Bill. Happy Wednesday.