Inbox: May the best remaining team lift the Lombardi

John from Stevens Point, WI

Which of the four remaining teams should Green Bay emulate?

I don't think the Packers need to necessarily emulate anyone but what Howie Roseman has done in Philadelphia reminds me most of Green Bay under Brian Gutekunst – draft well, develop within and acquire established free agents to strengthen your roster. The Eagles are the most well-rounded team remaining in the postseason, but will that be enough?

Dan from Algonquin, IL

Hey II, just three games left in the season. In your ideal scenario, how does everything play out?

Ideally, Buffalo and Washington advance to the Super Bowl and may the best team remaining lift the Lombardi. I fear it ends up Kansas City and Philadelphia, though. In that scenario, I'd pull for the Eagles to stave off KC's three-peat now that Detroit is out of the picture.

James from Appleton, WI

The coulda, woulda, shouldas have kicked in. Going into the playoffs, I was sure Christian Watson was the most important player the Packers were missing, but after the game I was thinking Jordan Morgan sure could have made a difference. Given the losses on the line and WR corps, which player would you have picked if you could have magically healed one?

Going into the game, I would've said Watson. Once the game started and Elgton Jenkins exited with the shoulder injury, then I'd go Morgan. We didn't see much of Morgan this year, but the sample size was enough to show me the Packers have another starting offensive lineman on their hands. Losing the first-round pick for the year definitely took a chunk out of Green Bay's depth on the O-line. Fortunately, the Packers' starting five stayed intact…until Philly, of course.

Brandon from Imperial, MO

Good morning. Just to follow up on the question about Tyler Davis and the rehab he's gone through. Having my own son get hurt last season as a freshman college football player, I can tell you that not playing again wasn't an option. That boy was determined. It takes so much work for some guys to just get to the next level. You're not going to hold them back once they get there. Having a support system back home helps, too. My family and I wish TD and his family all the best as he makes his comeback!

Exactly. That's just the competitive nature of athletes. Just look at ninth-year senior tight end Cam McCormick, who just completed his college career at the University of Miami (Fla.). McCormick suffered every season-ending injury imaginable but kept fighting his way back. I have deep respect for Davis not only for how he's forged ahead but also maintaining a smile on his face while doing so.

Sue from Three Lakes, WI

Tucker Kraft is becoming my favorite player on the team. He has a chance to be the best-ever TE to wear the green and gold. Who are your top three all-time Packers tight ends?

Ron Kramer, Paul Coffman and Mark Chmura.

Yotam from Atlit, Israel

It was mentioned last column that all final four teams have above 70% fourth-down conversion rate. However, the yards-to-go average is probably different. I don't know the statistics, but I bet the Eagles have a low average and mostly succeed with the Tush Push, while Washington (much like the Lions) go for it on longer distances. It'll be interesting to see what the trend is leaguewide next year.

I think we're gonna see less punting inside plus territory. In fact, I'm sure of it. There's still a time and place for field position, but the foot is firmly on the gas now.

Mark from Bettendorf, IA

Two third-rounders for losing your OC and DC? With Detroit's talent, I just don't see much effect on them being the favorite in the North next year. Are we giving these two coaches too much credit?

Detroit receives two third-rounders for losing Aaron Glenn, not Ben Johnson. The Rooney Rule was adjusted in 2020 to give teams that lose minority assistants to head-coaching positions with other teams two compensatory selections.

Markus from Aurora, CO

Happy Friday! Gameday (championship round) is only two sleeps away. Not for the Pack, but four other teams and their fan bases can still dream.

I miss conference championship weekend. It's fun when the NFL step-and-repeat backdrops get brought out and more national reporters come into town. Hopefully, the Packers get back in the NFL's final four soon (with more to follow).

Bill from Menominee, MI

One of the most impressive aspects of the 2024 squad was the ability of the defensive substitutions to be plug and play and be effective in their limited snaps. What rotational defensive players may be the most important to ensure stay on the roster for depth? Surely some will have free agency opportunities.

Eric Wilson and Isaiah McDuffie stepped up in a big way this year with the injuries to Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper. While it may be tough to retain both, it'd behoove the Packers to keep at least one. In addition to defensive depth, Wilson and McDuffie have played key roles on special teams the past two years.

John from Pittsburgh, PA

The 16th and only NFC team not to reach the conference championship since 2010? None other than the Dallas Cowboys, who have not reached since 1995! So how is it that the Cowboys can be the most valuable sports franchise in the world (according to Forbes) when they have not won any significant playoff games in 30 years?

The power of branding, baby. Believe it or not, the biggest brand name rarely produces the best goods.

James from De Pere, WI

Not a question just a note to Ben Johnson – the Packers will enjoy beating you and your team, as well. Your accomplishments in Detroit mean nothing now.

One word came to mind while watching Johnson's introductory presser: Chortling.

Thomas from Cedar Rapids, IA

Eventually adding an 18th, 19th and 20th game? Should that ever happen, I can see a split season similar to minor league baseball. First-half division winners play second-half division winners in round 1 of the playoffs. If you win both halves, you get a bye. Seems to solve a lot of problems but probably create just as many. Especially if the byes eliminate the opportunity for the league to make more money.

Is it just me or does this seem like curious timing for the NFL to express its desire to lengthen the regular season? There were like 12 or 14 teams that were eliminated from playoff contention with two games left to play. What's next? Best two-of-three playoff series?

Kevin from Savage, MN

A comment yesterday asking if ref quality impacts viewership. Teams in the playoffs also impacts viewership. I am not in a target demographic that the NFL cares about (too old) but I would add: too many network requirements (and cost), too much gambling advertising, college football/NIL/portal frustrations. I know the feeling is that the NFL is too big to fail. And it probably is, at least in my lifetime. But does anyone else wish we could turn back the NFL clock? Say 30 years?

That's the human condition, my friend.

Mark from Miami, FL

Mike indicated the league would eventually look for 19, then 20, games. It begs the question of the extremes: When will "more" be "too much"? There are 52 weeks in a year, so including playoffs and a year-round league, there would seem to be a maximum of 48 weeks. Do you foresee a future in which the league tries, say 22 weeks, then realizes it's too much and reduces the length of the season? Where will we eventually fall? I predict a year or two of 21 games, before NFL settles on 20 in 2055.

I feel like that's where Major League Baseball is right now. The regular season is too long relative to its brief postseason. Mixed with an uneven salary structure, I have little to no interest in baseball these days. The NFL must be careful. It has a great thing going. But as good as chocolate cake is, few can eat it every day without tiring of its taste. I feel like a 16-game regular season was perfect and the further we pull away from that only waters down the meaningfulness of the product…and that's without even getting into the player-safety issues.

Augustus from Eureka, CA

Should we perhaps be perturbed about Robert Saleh going back to the Niners after taking a prolonged proverbial peek behind our offensive curtain?

Nah, that doesn't concern me. Concepts cycle in and out every year and teams constantly evolve their schemes. Saleh also worked with LaFleur on the offensive side of the ball, so it's not like he mastered for a year on how Jeff Hafley and the Packers' defense attacked the 49ers' scheme, either.

Matt from Fitchburg, WI

I must be in the minority, because frankly, I can't take all the advertising and inconsistent officiating anymore. I pretty much watch Packers games, some playoffs, and that's it. Games have taken way too long for a while now, more than three hours. 538 had an article from back in 2017 that showed the average game had 70 minutes of commercials. Thirty-seven percent of what we watch is commercials. I know the league made a few changes a couple years ago to cut that down, but it wasn't enough.

Respectfully, it seems you're asking for your cake and eating it, too. It's OK to want a faster pace of play, but it likely will come at the cost of consistent officiating. If you want thorough officiating, it's likely to extend the length of games.

Jim from Portsmouth, NH

Regarding your comment yesterday: "...mostly want to see good, competitive football without controversy." What is the most exciting game for you to witness: a low-and-close scoring game full of defensive highlights or a high-and-close scoring game full of offensive fireworks...both of which could be decided in the last minute of play? Many thanks for your daily words.

I may be showing my age here, but I'll always take a low-scoring, defensively driven game over a high-scoring affair. The more the league favors the offense, the more I find myself cheering for defense to prevail.

Hank from Centennial, CO

Regarding video review, I can understand the Norwegian soccer fans' frustration. Part of the beauty of that sport is the physical challenge of having to be on the move for 45 minutes per half, more or less. Sprint, recover, get slammed to the turf, get up, sprint again, etc. The interminable replay delays throw a serious wrench into that works. American football is already broken into neat little bits, so if the replays are done quickly, the game is not fundamentally changed.

My thought – and call me crazy here – is make sure we get the calls right first. Once that happens, the objective becomes getting the calls right faster.

Ron from Attica, OH

"This time of year, the challenge is having meaningful conversation amongst constant conjecture. We do our best, though." This quote from Thursday's Inbox is perfect, and the reason I go to packers.com and nowhere else for Packers info. The bold-faced headlines "PACKERS BENCH LOVE AND SPOFFORD WILL GET FIRST-TEAM REPS IN CAMP" followed by something in small type like "In new bold predictions" just wear me out. Thanks for your reality reporting.

I've said this before but what chaps my lips this time of year is the casual football fan who can't distinguish between a "bold predictions" story they see on Facebook and what is actual reality. Then, they come here and send in questions about the Packers looking to cut, sign or trade players based on that click-bait content.

Nate from Naples, FL

Every NFL team has a "front office." Does that mean the II writers are in the back office? Is there a middle office? Basement office?

Correct, my desk is down by Milton. Thanks a bunch.

George from Edinburg, VA

I guess it was naive of me, since you are Packers employees, but I was happy to see you guys get a league pension. Perhaps that's for all teams, but you deserve it more.

It is not every team. In fact, it's a precious few…and it's probably two-thirds the reason I work here.

Jennifer from Middleton, WI

I'm sad Wes. I like to listen to "Get Up" in the morning and this week twice I turned it on to a discussion not about football, but basketball. Oh no, it's happening. The yearly discombobulating of my daily and weekly rituals built around NFL and college football. I'm already grieving football being over before it's over. Thank goodness II is year-round. You're like my methadone.

This seems like a good time to mention this will be the final Saturday Insider Inbox until training camp. We thank you for your patronage and look forward to chatting with you during five-day workweeks.