Inbox: Last season was uncharted territory for the entire NFL

Marty from Rancho Cordova, CA

Receivers and pirates and thieves, oh my…!

Marty, I have a feeling we're not on Edisto Island anymore.

Bill from Dix, NY

I have had a tough year – brain cancer (thankfully in remission) and a heart attack/open heart surgery. I'm much better now and want to say that I really appreciate the way you two help me keep up with what's what with the Packers. I missed most of last season while I was in the hospital. With the draft coming up, I was wondering what you think the greatest need is for the Packers? I hesitate to guess because of my situation, but I have a gut feeling it revolves around corner/safety.

I'm glad to hear you're doing better. Defensive back could still be high on the Packers' wish list, though I think the "need" veers more to perimeter cornerback than safety/nickel. Green Bay signed Nate Hobbs but has lost Eric Stokes, Corey Ballentine and Robert Rochell. Jaire Alexander's situation remains unsettled, as well. The Packers have options in the slot but finding an outside cornerback to develop behind Hobbs, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine may be in play. Only time will tell. Sending my prayers for your continued good health, Bill.

Jim from Prairie du Chien, WI

Good day all! I apologize for beating a dead horse, but to follow up on myself, maybe I need to switch my thinking from "Why did they change the onside kick?" to "What has it become?" to find out why I'm missing what you're missing that I'm missing. It just feels that it went from an exciting moment in games to a beer run/bathroom break for fans. Almost never successful, that can't be the result the NFL wanted? GPG!

We are still in the infancy of this whole thing. Last season was uncharted territory for the entire NFL. I remember Rich Bisaccia talking over the summer about the dynamic kickoff and how adjustments would be needed throughout the season. Unfortunately, onside kicks became increasingly obsolete because there no longer is an element of surprise with the play. The alignment also is more rigid. I doubt the league goes back to a traditional kickoff – the juice just isn't worth the squeeze as it relates to player safety – but there's still plenty to iron out with onside kicks. Hopefully, the league finds an answer because I do not want a fourth-and-long play to replace it (as many of you already know).

Gavin from Albuquerque, NM

I think it's a sad day when the league's website is one of the worst offenders when it comes to click-bait. Headline observed today on said site: "Which team won NFL's 2025 offseason?" Really? We're already declaring an offseason winner before the draft and without a single game played. Thank you II for keeping it grounded and real.

Speculation for the sake of speculation. Meanwhile, few ever write about "Who won last year's offseason?" I suppose the past doesn't drive as many clicks as the future.

Adrian from Oregon City, OR

The competition committee is considering using replay assist to help officials make the right call, where obvious video evidence exists. Not to throw flags if a foul wasn't called, but to pick up flags if there is no foul. This will help the game, in my opinion, as officials can "call it like they see it," knowing a mistake can be cleaned up without impacting the outcome of the game. What's your take?

I love it. Officials have struggled with roughing the passer and other player-control fouls in recent years. This is another instance where technology can help referees get the call right.

Bob from Covington, KY

Hi guys. In answer to Gordon from CA, Wes said: "For whatever reason, it seemed like the sweeps and end-arounds hit a snag during the second half of the year." Was it a snag? Or was it overuse? When you run a gadget play nearly every game, or multiple times a game, it becomes just another entry in the playbook that opponents expect and plan for. Will using Mecole Hardman instead of Jayden Reed or Christian Watson help when the element of surprise is gone?

Potentially. The Packers caught opponents off-guard when Reed started carrying the ball during the second half of his rookie season. They still had a fair amount of success through the first five games of 2024 (eight carries for 110 yards and a touchdown). But Reed added just 53 more yards on his last 12 carries with no TDs over the last 12 games. Again, I'm sure it's something Green Bay's coaching staff is looking into this offseason.

James from Appleton, WI

Football is a team game of individual matchups, with some great players demanding double-teaming, but even then, both opposing players are individually going against him (i.e., they can't lock arms). The tush push and assisting the ball carrier in general go against the spirit of every other play in the game. Do you think assisted replay answers the argument of on-field officials not being able to consistently call penalties on those plays?

It can't hurt. In the NFC title game, I felt the officials lost control of the things near the end. Yes, Washington was repeatedly jumping offside, but the Eagles also were false-starting. Whether the pushy of the tushy is fair or unfair is up to your own interpretation, but what I was watching wasn't football. There is a lot of business to conduct next week in Florida. We'll see what the decision-makers do.

Joseph from Latrobe, PA

So, Packers' fans don't like the NFL tinkering with changes to seeding, number of games, etc. However, they like making the playoffs the past two years only because of the somewhat recently added seventh seed. I don't like the proposed changes, either, but the Packers could very easily be on a three-year streak of missing the playoffs.

Nope. As I said before, history doesn't work like that. There's a butterfly effect with everything, including the addition of a 17th game affecting everyone's schedule now. Also, the Packers said themselves Jordan Love would've gone back in against Chicago if they were playing for their season.

Jeff from Mequon, WI

Wes, in Thursday's Inbox you said the organization must use its premium resources to support QB1, so you know what draft I immediately thought of. My question is this – do you believe when Brian Gutekunst selected Love they were anticipating him to play sooner? We all know he wasn't ready at that point anyway, but given how everything played out, I wonder if Gutey's thoughts were sit Love for a year, move on from '12,' and then they would have been in position to re-sign '17' for $30 million a year.

I'm not gonna put myself in Gutekunst's head, but I think the Packers found a prospect they couldn't pass on in what might turn out to be the deepest QB draft in this era. Comparatively, New England passed on Love and proceeded into the 2020 season with Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer. The Patriots won seven games and drafted Mac Jones the next year. Two years after that, Bill Belichick was out as head coach and a colossal rebuild commenced. The Packers may not have needed a QB in 2020, but it was the right move for the future of the organization. Before you say Green Bay could've had Tee Higgins or Michael Pittman, it also could have drafted Denzel Mims, Laviska Shenault or Chase Claypool.

Arn from Kenosha, WI

Regarding the draft...Do you feel that AI will ever supplant intuition and instincts in the selection process? With so many permutations of possibilities, it seems like a 'natural' evolution.

We'll all have to learn to live with AI at some point, but the human eye in talent evaluation is paramount. Nobody can predict the future, but you can take an educated guess based on experience – in both football and life.

Bob from Rome, NY

Wes, just a question related to offensive and defensive lines. Who do you think is at more of a disadvantage, an offensive having to keep players in to help protect the quarterback or a defense having to send extra players to get QB pressure? I say the defense. We await your response. Thank you.

In theory, it should be the D-line because the offense has the benefit of knowing its play call and what it's looking to accomplish on any given down. However, momentum often can be a negating factor. Once a defensive front starts pinning the ears back, it's not easy to stop that train.

Kevin from Jenison, MI

In response to Doug from Neenah regarding comparing the "tush push' to Shaq's dunking, a better comparison would be Shaq lifting another player so he could put the ball through the hoop. The proposal is not to eliminate the QB sneak, it's to eliminate the push/aid of a ball carrier which makes it a non-football play. When are decisions on proposals made?

Unless a proposal is tabled for the May meeting (like the dynamic kickoff last year), everything will be discussed and voted on next week in West Palm Beach.

Mike from Lake Villa, IL

Vince from Green Bay suggested a rule change to help the defense. I think a good rule change to help the defense would be to penalize offensive ball carriers (RBs, QBs, WRs and TEs) from stiff-arming defenders by placing their hands on the defender's face mask. Defensive players and offensive linemen cannot put their hands on the opponent's face mask, so why should ball carriers get away with it. It is a simple safety issue that would be easy to implement.

Every week, it seems, I ask myself why it's legal for the offensive player to do whatever he wants with a defender's facemask/helmet while it's a personal foul on the defense if reciprocated. I know Spoff explained last year there's a reason behind it, but I'll be darned if I can't think of it now.

Doug from Neenah, WI

Good morning, Wes. All eyes should be on Notre Dame's pro day to see what kind of numbers their star cornerback, Benjamin Morrison, puts up after his 2024 season was cut short by hip surgery. When you graduated from college, did you have a pro day to demonstrate how many words per minute you could type?

Morrison didn't work out at Notre Dame's pro day but told reporters he's fully cleared from his hip injury. He'll hold his own pre-draft workout at some point, though. My "pro day" workout for the Press-Gazette and sports editor Mike Vandermause consisted of me breaking down defenses and subpackages. Thankfully, I passed.

Al from Green Bay, WI

Four weeks from today, we'll know what the Packers did in Round 1 of the draft. Assuming Gutey holds onto his 23rd selection, which position group do you see as most likely to be taken? Mock drafts range from CB to edge rusher to WR to D-line to O-line. No betting at Bushwood and all that, but if you had to put your (play) money on one position group, what would it be? Which among the above do you see as least likely?

I think D-line is probably the safest bet while receiver is least likely of the options you presented, which means they probably take wideout at No. 23 and don't draft DL at all.

Corey from Richland, WA

Regarding hometown dedication of NFL fans, I was afforded an opportunity to travel domestically quite a bit for work a few years ago and was very impressed with what I saw in Buffalo. I always witnessed a plethora of signs, logos, and entertainment advertisements geared toward an upcoming Bills game that very much made me feel like being back in WI. I was actually quite surprised at the lack of Seahawks community support when I relocated to WA State. Do you think northern winters contribute?

Perhaps. Buffalo is the closest I feel to Green Bay as far as a fanbase. A few too many middle fingers for my liking during the bus ride to Orchard Park, N.Y., but I otherwise love their passion. I was very surprised how docile the Seattle crowd was when the Packers returned in December. I never thought I'd hear "Go Pack Go" chants inside Lumen Field.

Gary from Chippewa Falls, WI

The oral history of the NFL Draft has been a great walk down memory lane. Imagine if today's draft was 17 rounds. A team could fix every position in one year every year. That would be great Inbox conversation.

It definitely would make for a challenging series of Instant Reax videos.

Jaye from Sulzbach, Rosenberg, Georgia

Do you think if the tush-push rule was in effect last year, the Philadelphia Eagles may have lost a game or two which they did eventually win? Just pondering it.

I don't recall any of their games coming down to a successful push of the tush, but it obviously would've changed the Eagles' approach to third- and fourth-and-short. I'm sure Philly fans would counter that by saying the Eagles had a 2,000-yard rusher in Saquon Barkley. I guess we'll never know.

Dennis from Parrish, FL

Not a fan of Roger Goodell. I might come to Wisconsin in late April just so I can boo him 32 times!

As is your right, my friend.

Jeff from Flemington, NJ

Although I'm sure it started out as disapproval, my guess is at this point Goodell doesn't mind the booing and sees it as a sign of admiration (e.g. Kurt Angle's "You Suck" chant). A reaction (good or bad) is better than none at all. With that said, maybe it's time we turn Goodell babyface? Seems like it could be a nice feather in the cap for Packers' nation.

If John Cena can turn heel, anything is possible. Either way…as Pete Weber once said, "Hate me or love me, you watched. That's all you could do."

Derek from Eau Claire, WI

As an avid garage sales goer, you aren't always just looking for a Picasso. Sometimes a person has decided to pay for lawn care, and they are giving their fertilizer spreader away at a bargain because they feel they have no need. It's nothing amazing, but it's the exact piece your garage was missing.

Very true.

JD from Wausau, WI

In response to James from Appleton and his "Wi-Fi Bluetooth" ball, it could just use facial recognition instead of a password. That is until the center pukes on the ball.

It would need to be an all-seasons, all-illnesses ball.

Aaron from Denver, CO

That was an all-timer Inbox Thursday, Wes. Thanks for your hard work. Winsome twice? Keep doing what you do, buddy. Vicisms shining light and bright.

No better way to enter the weekend. The next time we talk will come from the NFL Annual Meetings. We're another week closer to football, folks.