Inbox: Opportunity has knocked and he has answered

Matt from Middleton, WI

Losing to your practice-squad QB has to be a tough pill to swallow for the Titans faithful.

Well, they didn't exactly show up to support their squad. Packers fans owned that place. Hats off to the GB faithful in this one.

Steve from Las Vegas, NV

LaFleur dusting off an old Jim Mora quote. "You think you know, but you don't."

If LaFleur says nobody really understands everything that goes into what Willis has done these last couple weeks, I believe him.

Stephen from Green Bay, WI

That was a master class of coaching. That is all I can say.

It takes a village, and the Packers are using all the villagers.

Steve from Hilton Head Island, SC

What a great kid Malik Willis seems to be. The more I hear his interviews the more I like him. Humble, gracious, thankful and respectful. I can see why his teammates and coaches like him. 2-0 and him playing this well. Has any backup in Packer history played this well?

Well, he's got a ways to go to reach Zeke Bratkowski territory. Or even Matt Flynn range for that matter. I don't disagree with anything you said, but I'll confess it's a greater challenge to write fun, flashy stuff about him when he plays it so straight at the podium. He did open up on a couple of topics, so I did my best in yesterday’s Rapid Reaction column to capture that. But nothing rattles this guy.

Jeff from Mequon, WI

Is Malik pricing himself out of the Packers' backup role?

He's on his rookie contract through the 2025 season.

Ralf from Arnsberg, Germany

I thought Malik Willis looked very comfortable for the most part. Playbook seemed to have opened quite a bit compared to last week. How much of a difference does a week make given he's been in GB for only three weeks? Thanks.

Every practice, meeting and study session is invaluable to him given the circumstances. An extra week probably felt like a month for him.

Ron from Geneva, IL

How cool was it that, due to our past rushing success, play-action was already set-up on the first play of the game? I anticipated that and it really made me smile.

I thought the zone read stuff early really got the Titans on their heels, too. Willis barely ran any of that last week because the traditional running game was so dominant. Tennessee eventually took it away, but that defense didn't look prepared for Willis to use his legs like he did.

Joe from Swansea, IL

I know Mr. LaFleur doesn't care about this, but can we get the last two game films in the hands of the Coach of the Year voters? In a league where excuses can be used as currency for failure, our coach never resorts to them. Roll up your sleeves, go to work, shoulder the blame and distribute the credit. That's got to impress and inspire the players.

No doubt it does, but bringing up COY in Week 3 is a bit much.

Paul from Ledgeview, WI

Mike, one game is a really small sample size, but while the arm talent, stature, and physicality of Levis is apparent, Willis made better decisions with the ball. How much of that can be attributed to game planning, protection, and other external factors, and how much of that is part of each player?

Impossible to say. I don't know Levis at all, honestly. I know Willis has been one cool customer since he got here, and they've devised game plans that don't ask him to be a superstar. The pass protection plays a huge part in all of it, too. As LaFleur said after the game, what the Packers put Levis through is tough on any QB, as is learning on the fly like he is.

Leandro from Lexington, KY

Up by two scores in the second half and the D stays aggressive? Just put it right in my veins, Spoff.

The opposing QB had a lot to do with Hafley's approach.

Jim from Columbus, IN

I continue to be impressed by RB Emanuel Wilson. He's a lot faster than you think and just seems to get the yards racked up. What did you see from him in the Tennessee game?

I loved what Wilson brought to this game. Patience, burst, vision. He put it all on display with the chances he was given. For that young man, opportunity has knocked and he has answered.

Zeke from Jacksonville, FL

EIGHT sacks?

Easily could've been nine.

Zak from Huntington Beach, CA

So, does Preston Smith owe Rashan Gary a set of steak knives, or will he have to carry Rashan's helmet at practice or something, for his offsides penalty that wiped out Rashan's sack? What's the rule on the team (unspoken or otherwise) for when one player's mistake erases a great play by a teammate?

I don't know what kind of kangaroo court is set up, if any, but Gary gets to hold that one over Preston for a while.

Jeff from Indian Lake, NY

Is it safe to say Devonte Wyatt has made the third-year leap? He's been awfully impressive, crazy athleticism for a big guy.

We saw this coming last year. His progress has been steady. This defense suits him, too. Attack and get up the field.

Richard from Livermore, CA

Way too many penalties, but I didn't understand one of them. Late in the first half, Bo Melton went in motion, stopped and then reversed his direction. He was flagged for not getting set. Since he was the only man in motion, I didn't think he had to be set when he reversed his direction. What am I missing, as it was a costly penalty?

I was trying to figure out the same thing in the live blog. I hate to sound like a coach or player, but I've got to look at the film on that.

Shannon from Ovilla, TX

Balanced offense with 188 rushing and 190 passing yards. Eight sacks, three turnovers created including a pick-six, and only 33 rushing yards given up for the defense. Yet it feels like we could have done better. The penalties need to get better or it's going to cost the team a game. How do we improve that for next week's big game?

The penalties are the biggest black mark on this team through three weeks. It remains a combination of pre-snap miscues and combative technique errors. I'm no coach, but I would imagine the penalties will be a huge part of today's film review with the players before their day off.

Yotam from Atlit, Israel

Yes, GB had a lot of penalties, some of them head-scratching, but the worst penalty had to have been the Titans' defensive holding on the missed field goal. Going from change of possession to another TD must have been really brutal for the Tennessee defense.

Crusher. They thought they had kept it a 13-point game. Then they wound up down 20. Demoralizing to say the least.

Samuel from Skokie, IL

Do you think if the field goal was made the Packers would have declined the penalty? You usually don't take points off the board but it was a first down in excellent field position. Declining the penalty would have ended up costing four points. Just a thought experiment.

Taking the fresh set of downs and continuing to try to score the touchdown is the decision every coach would make there, except maybe in certain late-game situations. Sure, it could backfire, but you don't settle for three unless you have to.

Andrew from Chicago, IL

Why is there such a dearth of historical memory these days?

That's random. Because the internet is older than the vast majority of people using it?

Carl from Onalaska, WI

I'm not usually one to question play calling, but the Bears throwing 52 times with a rookie QB against a bad Colts run defense? That seemed odd.

When your offensive line is struggling, it makes for a tough road no matter what you call. The Titans found that out, too.

Andy from Clive, IA

Happy Monday! A what moment in the game do you think Titans management really felt the sting from the Willis trade?

Ja's pick-six. He's been trying to bait QBs into that throw his whole career.

Kenneth from Chesapeake, VA

Walk us thru the logistics on how the inactive list gets posted 90 minutes before kickoff. Who sends it and to whom? Who posts the list to the web site?

Our department gets the list a few minutes in advance from the communications department. I type up the info for the posting, and then someone from our reliable team hits the button right at the 90-minute mark, followed by links to the posting going out across our social media accounts.

Mary from Portland, OR

Wondering why the coaches don't put a stop to these guys trying to vault over their opponents to avoid a tackle. One of these days somebody is going to get seriously injured.

I'm with you. Yikes.

Tom from West Palm Beach, FL

I appreciated Wes's response regarding Christian Watson as a "WR1" because it was SPOT ON. I can't help but think fantasy football is behind this constant onslaught of questions. The fact remains this offense has a ton of mouths to feed, so not everyone is going to engorge themselves every week. It's what makes this offense so dangerous. We should be celebrating it, not lamenting it.

Wes may have thundered away at Kendrick a bit too heavily, but I answered a similar question the previous day with "beware of fantasy football moaners." I have no time for them either, because what you just said about the mouths to feed is absolutely true. Every week, one or more of the Packers' established weapons will not have much to show statistically. Doubs caught one ball Sunday, Wicks none. It's going to be a fact of life with this team.

Matt from Middleton, WI

To draw a safety comparison between NASCAR and the NFL. NASCAR had head and neck restraint devices available for drivers but made them optional. Dale Earnhardt and three others died in crashes in a short period of time. HANS devices could have prevented these deaths. Since making the HANS devices mandatory following Dale's death there hasn't been a fatality in NASCAR. Why wasn't Tua wearing a Guardian cap? I'm not saying Guardian caps could prevent death but it could prevent the NFL from losing a star player.

I don't know anything about auto racing regulations, but in the NFL such a mandate would have to be collectively bargained with the players' union. Otherwise, it's up to the individual player. That's the current system.

Matt from Greensboro, NC

Not a question but a comment. I hope Tua Tagovailoa has trusted people around him that are concerned for his long-term physical well-being and not just his financial well-being. And if he does come back I hope his coaches insist he slide feet first and that he be the first QB to wear a Guardian cap.

I can get on board with that.

Bill from Monrovia, CA

Hi Mike. My 10-year-old son and I follow the live blog almost every Sunday because the Packers are rarely televised here. You do a great job but can you please describe yardage gains with numbers instead of words like a few, a bunch, a chunk, a lot, big gain, etc. My boy likes to chart the games on paper and gets confused when words instead of numbers are used to describe plays. Thank you and we look forward to live blogging again.

Thanks for logging on. If I don't know the exact yardage right away, I don't like to put it in there and be wrong. Usually I follow my first reaction to a play by clarifying the yardage gained, or at least down/distance, in the next comment. It's my pattern and process and I hope it works most of the time. Believe me, I feel for your 10-year-old. If I were that age now, I'd be doing what he does, and I genuinely appreciate his interest in all the details. I'm just doing my best as fast as I can.

John from St. Louis, MO

Do you know the difference between Lions fans and Packers fans? Green Bay fans go to the coach's house and shovel out his driveway on game day. In Detroit they threaten to kill the coach. Dan Campbell deserves the same respect as Matt LaFleur.

I feel like I ask this rhetorically at least once a day: What the (heck) is wrong with people?

Megan from Noblesville, IN

After three games, we've gotten as many INTs as 2023. And we had eight sacks in the game which hasn't happened since 2005. I'm a fan of this defense. But to my question … who the helmet is this Vikings team? Next week is pivotal.

Should be fun.

Bob from Covington, KY

Hi, guys. Two solid wins led by the backup QB are great but let's not forget those wins came against two pretty gelatinous teams. Next week against the 3-0 Vikings will tell us a lot more about how this Packers team really stacks up. Fingers crossed...

Can't wait.

Randy from Klamath Falls, OR

The Vikings look real good. If we lose to them this week we'll be two games behind with only 13 left. Is it a must-win game? There, got that out of the way early.

Happy Monday.