Inbox: Might as well find out

Markus from Aurora, CO

Was Josh Allen jinxed by pictures of him being featured in II Q&As leading up to the AFC Championship Game?

I don't know, but might as well find out.

Andy from Two Rivers, WI

Which kind of Super Bowl do you think we're in store for? The high-scoring, edge-of-your-seat game, or the I-don't-want-to-miss-the-commercials, boring game?

I could see plenty of points being scored. Probably not as many as the Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl from two years ago, but these offenses aren't likely to get shut down.

Brendan from Dallas, TX

I was intrigued by one question a person asked regarding why ratings dropped during the playoffs. The answer was that both the 49ers and the Cowboys weren't in the mix. With the current Super Bowl being a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, do you think that will have a negative impact on ratings? Not that it matters, but I'm curious. A few people I've talked to (none of them are a Chiefs/Eagles fan) are lukewarm at best.

I'm curious, too. Have people actually grown that tired of the Chiefs, especially with a rematch from two years ago, or are they intrigued enough by the possibility (or thwarting) of the three-peat?

John from Belleview, FL

Teams build chemistry as the season progresses. They rely on each other to get things right. When will the NFL realize the same holds true for referees? Keep the team together to try to reach the Super Bowl. When you use "all-star" teams of referees, you get the officiating equivalent of the Pro Bowl. And everyone knows what a quality production that always was...

That may have been the issue with the controversial fourth-down spot on Allen. For whatever reason, the official on the high side of the field who saw a first down deferred to the official on the other side who marked it short, even though there's no way the latter could see the ball through Allen's back to make a proper spot. Is the first guy less likely to defer to the other if he's working with a longtime crew member? Was the deference due to unfamiliarity? Unfortunate questions.

Cody from De Pere, WI

If the Chiefs do manage a three-peat, does the officiating "help" along the way put an asterisk next to that accomplishment? I feel a lot of people will discount the fact that the Chiefs are a good team, because of the perceived one-sidedness of the officiating. Thoughts?

That will stick with some in the moment, but 10 years from now it'll largely be forgotten. Spygate and Deflategate barely register these days, and those were actually determined to be cheating.

Jason from Austin, TX

For all the questionable calls, failed fourth-down plays, and missed 2-point conversions, if you asked any Buffalo fan before the game if they would take the scenario of them being down by three points with 3:33 left in the game with all three timeouts, starting at the 30-yard line, I think they would take it and assume that they would come away with either the win or overtime at worst. Heck, if that were the Packers vs KC in the Super Bowl, I'd take that scenario. What about you?

For sure. The play on that final drive nobody's talking about (understandably) is the third-and-10 receiver screen to Cooper. It was a great call to beat the blitz, and if Cooper doesn't slip as he catches the ball, he might get the first down and a whole lot more instead of just five yards. The Chiefs sent seven with nobody deep, the blocking was two-on-two on the outside, and the other two defenders were all the way on the other side of the field. Karlaftis peeled back from rushing off the edge and is able to get Cooper from behind, partly because he slipped at first. Talk about woulda, coulda, shoulda.

Don from Intercourse, PA

The way the Eagles ran through the Rams' defense and then the Commanders' defense, I gotta give a lot more props to our own defense the way they handled Barkley and Co.

The Packers didn't give up the explosive to Barkley, which gave them a chance even when the offense was having such a rough day. The only time Barkley broke into the clear was very late in the game when he slid down to kill the clock. Barkley's runs of 62 and 78 yards against LA were backbreakers in a tight game, and his 60-yarder out of the gate against Washington set the tone and got that defense on its heels.

Kent from Homosassa, FL

Please educate me as to why a minimal flinch draws a motion penalty but a right guard can move his arm and signal on nearly every offensive play.

False starts are called for simulating the snap or start of the play. An arm motion as part of a team's silent count is no different than the QB raising his leg and does not simulate the snap.

Bob from Sarasota, FL

I've not seen any of Cliff's history posts on this website for a while. Is there a trick to finding them or are they elsewhere?

Cliff cut back to posting once per month this fall and winter to allow more time for a draft history series/project he's working on that will be part of our content leading up to the draft.

Jim from Ashburnham, MA

I sense fans are beginning to move to the 2025 season based on II questions. With the enthusiasm of this team's potential AND with the genius of the NFL's opponent rotation, fans have a great opportunity to see how the challenge will be met. The home opponents alone give us five playoff teams and a slate of QBs including Jared Goff, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Bryce Young, and "rookie" J.J. McCarthy. Jordan Love vs. any of these make for must-see TV.

Giddee-up.

Dale from Aurora, CO

Injury-prone Watson will be in last contract year next season. Probably will not play, or will be ready late in the season. How does Gute handle his contract going forward? He can't justify an amount that Watson could be worth, if he were able to reach his potential. Avid II fans are wondering.

The only current focus is for Watson to get healthy and back on the field in '25. Hopefully that happens. The Packers don't have to make any decision about his contract for, literally, over a year from now. So they won't.

Joe from Duffield, Canada

Hey Mike, thanks for the postseason insight. I agree with Wes that I don't like the term vanilla when talking about NFL offenses. But, I couldn't help but think about LaFleur's first press conference when he was hired talking about "marrying the run with the pass." I wouldn't say the offense was vanilla, but I would say there was difficulty in that marriage. Do you think it was due to Love's injuries? Learning what the offense would look like with Josh Jacobs? Or was there something else you saw?

Both of those items were definitely factors. The lack of reliability catching the ball also damaged the efforts to find rhythm.

Jacob from Superior, WI

Jay from Altoona stated that BG's talking about teams with premiere WRs not going far in the playoffs, but we also led the league in drops. So where is the medium then?

Catch the ball better. If you can catch it most of the time, then you can catch it closer to all of the time.

Ed from Hilltown, PA

Hi Mike, do you think Mark Murphy's successor will use the same organizational structure he did with both head coach and GM reporting to him, or will he use the conventional structure of HC reporting to GM and GM to the president? What did you see as the pros and cons of the structure Murphy used and did it work as expected?

I believe it worked as Murphy intended, which stemmed from him choosing to have the final say over the head coach and being involved in other high-level football decisions. I don't know if that's Ed Policy's intention or not.

Ryan from Rosemount, MN

Follow up on the Malik Willis question: What would the king's ransom be for a trade that you would accept? My quick research indicates a third-rounder is the highest comp pick that gets awarded. Would it take a second-rounder either this year or next? Having a good backup on a rookie deal is hard to part with.

Very hard. The way you're looking at it feels sound to me. A second-rounder would be tough to pass up, especially one in the top half of the second, meaning a top 50 pick. Otherwise, keep him this year and take the comp pick later, even if it's not as high as a third.

David from Janesville, WI

Gents, I wholeheartedly agree with Wes's assessment to not trade Willis this offseason. I also agree that there is a chance for a comp pick, but I'm curious what path Gutey will follow to prepare for that departure. After seeing Malik's value I'm not sure the team will settle for Sean Clifford (or someone like him) as the No. 2. Do you feel a mid-round QB pick this spring is more likely than a journeyman veteran signing the following spring?

I could see a Day 3 pick at QB this year, yeah.

James from Appleton, WI

Here's something I forgot: Javon Bullard was a second-round pick. For all the musical chairs the secondary went through, it was still pretty productive. How good can it be with a full season out of everyone?

That's not the question to ask, because no way a primary nickel package is going to stay healthy for a full season. Nobody's does. So here's how I look at it. As this past season wound down, it was clear the Packers' top DB group was Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams on the back end, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine outside, with Bullard in the slot. Will Jaire Alexander be back or not? Eric Stokes? I don't know. Even if they aren't, that's a decent group of five as a starting point to then be augmented, via free agency and the draft, particularly at corner. With Kitan Oladapo already a reserve safety, and possibly Zayne Anderson if he's re-signed, corner gets the focus, and then a more robust group competes for spots and roles, hopefully solidifying depth along the way.

Anthony from Southington, CT

Just a thought… any chance the Packers might be thinking of moving on from Josh Myers, moving Zach Tom to center and seeing what Jordan Morgan can do at right tackle? I've read what an outstanding center Tom would be. Thank you for a great column.

The belief when Tom was drafted was that center might be his best position, but after these last two seasons at right tackle I'd assume he's staying put. If Myers isn't back, I see various possible routes (not all mutually exclusive) – sign a center in free agency, draft one, try Jacob Monk there, or move Sean Rhyan to center and plug Morgan in at right guard.

Bob from Abilene, TX

Now that the offseason is here, I have a baseball question. I have seen articles saying that the Dodgers are ruining baseball. As a fan of a small-market team, I have to somewhat agree and a level playing field does not remotely exist. Do you ever see MLB creating a cap so that all teams have opportunities? Sure seems to me like the right thing to do. I ask this because I know that you are a fan of a small-market team as well and I would love to hear your take on this.

Baseball's economic landscape will never level out until a salary cap is implemented, which the players will never agree to in CBA negotiations. The only way they maybe would (huge maybe) is if a cap also comes with a salary floor not far below the cap. But the only way to get such a floor is for the large-market owners to agree to a much more robust revenue-sharing plan so the small-market clubs actually have enough to spend to reach the floor. I don't see that happening. Revenue sharing in the NFL works as well as it does because the bulk of the money is in the national broadcast deals, of which every team is a participant. Baseball revenue (and its disparity) is rooted in local TV contracts, and I can't imagine the Dodgers have any interest in giving a chunk of their TV money to the Brewers and Pirates. The Dodgers currently spend more in luxury tax on their payroll than one-third of the clubs spend on their payrolls themselves. There's no downside for them until the have-nots start folding up and there aren't enough teams to play.

Eric from Kenosha, WI

Good morning. I am with Wes on his comments about baseball. Sure, I read articles to keep up with the Brewers, but when they make a shortsighted decision to keep their games hidden behind a dying TV model, I simply don't watch. I wonder, in addition to too many games, is the overreliance on QB play also creating an NFL have and have-nots gulf similar to baseball's economic disparity?

In a manner of speaking, yes, but the difference in football is you can try again every year to find that QB. The small-market pursuit of money in MLB doesn't work that way.

Jessi from Sterling, KS

Time to break up the questions! What is something you would like to accomplish in the offseason personally?

Getting through Volumes III and IV of Cliff's franchise history anthology. That's one of my goals. I finished I and II last offseason.

Rhonda from Italy, TX

"I want Wes to pump my gas on these cold winter days. The longtime readers will understand." Wait. Are you planning to retire and move south soon?

Oh, no. As long as the bosses will still have me, I'll be around awhile yet. Happy Wednesday.