Inbox: The cohesion is there

Karen from South Beloit, IL

"Mikey?" Yeah, you probably shouldn't have printed that one.

I hesitated, but I needed to keep the story authentic.

Adam from Wausau, WI

What is one thing you learned from Vic that has made you a better writer?

It's incumbent upon any writer to get the details right, but don't get so caught up in them you lose sight of the bigger picture.

Larry from Carney, MI

Mike, how do you feel about not making Weston's top three writers?

Ha. I'm grateful his horizons are sufficiently expanded.

Joe from The Villages, FL

Is this the year we can finally "just beat the Niners"? If any year, this looks like the right one as even with CMC back, they definitely look beatable.

The only time in the current iteration of the rivalry the 49ers didn't look beatable, to me, were the two matchups in 2019. The last three meetings, split 2-1, have been decided by a grand total of eight points.

Thomas from Lake Geneva, WI

With San Francisco next, how will Robert Saleh's influence help the Packers? Also, do the Packers have a 49ers demon to exorcise?

Hard to say on Saleh. He hasn't coached there since 2020. That's an eternity in the NFL. As for demons, you can't exorcise playoff ones in the regular season. It just doesn't work that way. All that matters is the Packers getting win No. 8 this week.

Steve from Surprise, AZ

I'm glad you both are responding to (momentary) relief vs. replying to pure misery. On to the next game vs. what must be a salty 49ers team. Seems to me this matchup always comes down to which team wins on the O- and D-line play. Bosa may be out. Disregarding penalties, what is your view of the advantages and disadvantages the Packers face in the trenches?

I really like the way the Packers' offensive line is playing right now. With Josh Myers back at center and everyone at their normal spots, the cohesion is there. As many are writing in about, the defensive line isn't generating enough pressure with the four-man rush, and when it did against Caleb Williams, he scrambled away from it. The 49ers are plenty stout up front, so Hafley may need to get pretty creative. Sending (or bluffing) extra guys to get McCaffrey and/or Kittle to stay in to block would certainly be worth a try, but nothing's a cure-all.

Richard from Livermore, CA

Comments on the Niners from a Bay Area Packer fan who has seen them play a lot: 1) The Niner defense has shown they are much, much less effective without Bosa. 2) Purdy makes crucial plays with his legs, but gets a lot of passes deflected. 3) Their special teams have cost them games. 4) De'Vondre Campbell is constantly picked on by opposing offensive coordinators. 5) The Niner fans are called "Whiners" for a reason, so JUST BEAT THE 49ERS.

All righty then.

Zach from Glen Ellyn, IL

What will it take to finally beat the 49ers at Lambeau Field on Sunday?

One takeaway. Just gimme one. The Packers dropped two easy-as-pie interceptions last January, either of which would've made Purdy the goat of San Francisco's season.

Dennis from Ottawa, IL

Congratulations to Mark Murphy an honor richly deserved. A fitting tribute coming at the right time. Anything else would be a travesty. His contributions to our team are indisputable. Many thanks for all he has given us. We would be much poorer without his leadership.

It's outstanding Mark is going into the Packers HOF by himself, an honor that started in 1995 with the induction of Packers HOF founder William Brault. The others who have gone in as solo inductees are Ron Wolf (2000), Bob Harlan ('04), Reggie White ('06), Mike Holmgren ('12), Brett Favre ('15) and Ted Thompson ('19). I'm glad for Mark he's joining that list, because it's deserved.

Randy from Sterling, IL

I haven't seen anyone comment on the bad snap Mr. Daniel Whelan artfully got ahold of and placed after a TD. Even the kicker had a split-second of hesitation. It was "just one point"… I think that showed itself to be important. It's a "what you might have missed" moment, and Whelan again shows he deserves our praise. He's a special-teams machine don't ya think?

We've commented on his holding prowess several times in this space. It's somewhat fascinating if you play out the game with that PAT being missed. If it's 13-all, then when the Bears score a TD, they'd kick to go up seven. When the Packers score, they'd probably kick to re-tie the game at 20. Then the blocked field goal sends the game to OT. That's assuming no other blocked kicks, of course.

Phil from Marietta, GA

In Monday's II, Mike said "not a lot to feel good about except Christian Watson and Josh Jacobs." I'd like to add Brenton Cox Jr.. When P. Smith got traded it was said that would open more opportunities for Cox and Arron Mosby. Cox certainly responded! For how many snaps was he on the field to produce a big TFL and sack?

Cox played 22 snaps on defense. I'm going to slow down the hype train on him, though, until I see him make a play aside from when he's unblocked (not to disparage a season debut). What LaFleur said about him Monday impressed me more, he how dominated a guy on special teams so badly the dude threw a head butt in frustration for a 15-yard penalty, and Cox kept his cool and didn't retaliate.

Shark from Garden City, ID

I would argue that one more positive is Jordan Love working on his clutch status driving for the go-ahead and eventual winning TD. Which got me wondering, are game-winning drives an actual statistic? Or do only the flashy ones where the team wins at the last second count? Love got a score when he needed to.

There is a statistic but I don't know the parameters for determination. I agree on Love's performance overall, minus the one poor throw to Tucker Kraft. He looked healthy again, which certainly helps, and he generated several explosives on a limited number of pass attempts. When I reviewed the offensive film, there was SO MUCH to like. Coming up zeros on two drives that reached the 5-yard line just left a sour taste. It's a shame the offense didn't get more chances the way it was moving the ball, but that was on the defense.

Derek from Eau Claire, WI

When Watson brought the ball down in double coverage Kraft seemed to be 20 some yards downfield uncovered in Love's field of vision. How do you think Love will be graded on that throw/decision?

The decision wasn't the right one. The throw was outstanding. Based on my review of the film, I'm not entirely sure he saw Kraft.

Mark from Ishpeming, MI

Any idea as to why there was only one pass thrown in the direction of a tight end? With all the hype this season about our TEs being an integral part of the offense I would think more than one poorly thrown pass in their direction is called for.

I don't mean to pick on Mark specifically (unless this question is related to fantasy football, 'cause I got no time for that), but lots of folks brought this up, and I find it a tad annoying after so much harping on Love's need to be smarter and protect the ball, he does that and suddenly all these questions arise about distribution. He dropped back only 20 times in 42 meaningful snaps. He scrambled on three, took multiple checkdowns to running backs, made one questionable decision and one poor throw – 13-of-17 (with one drop) for 261 is a whale of a game, folks, especially against a tough defense. If you want to see the impact the tight ends had on the offense, check out WYMM. Kraft and Ben Sims were outstanding as blockers throughout.

Hank from Centennial, CO

On a 21-yard pass reception against the Bears, Josh Jacobs seemed to be gesturing with his left hand as if he were signaling a teammate before he was forced out of bounds. Could this have been a bit of gamesmanship on his part, trying to get the defenders to hesitate to account for a blocker coming up from the backside who wasn't actually there?

No, Jacobs was signaling to the would-be tackler, "C'mon bro, let's go," because he wasn't going out of bounds on his own. It was pretty badass. I love the way he plays.

Al from Hartford, WI

Was watching with my son Sunday, and we both thought "the goal line goes around the world" still applied. He's still a pup at only 37 years old but we both recalled hearing that phrase in broadcasts for years. Has that been changed for a long time? We both initially thought Jordan's dive should have been good for six points.

That rule was changed in 2005.

Aumed from Moorhead, MN

Good morning. What are your thoughts on the play call for the two-point attempt? I personally thought LaFleur would have something better up his sleeve in that situation over a simple run out of the gun.

I thought so too at the time, surmising LaFleur would use the long timeout over the challenge on the pylon play to dial up something. Then I saw the film, and there's simply a whiffed block at the point of attack. If that block is at minimum a stalemate, Jacobs has a great chance to score.

Howard from Appleton, WI

I was surprised that our defense seemed totally unable to contain Williams. He scrambled and ran all over the field, though we had done pretty well containing the likes of Hurts and Murray. Do you think there was a flaw in the defensive game plan? Or did we simply miss the veteran presence of a Preston Smith on the edge? (Though it was encouraging to see Cox make a couple of splash plays!) Or was it something else?

Williams had just 20 rushing yards over the previous two games (15 and 5), and I think the new offensive coordinator reminded him his legs can be a weapon, reinforced by the insertion of zone-read runs into the game plan. The rush plan was not focused on containing him, as it was versus QBs like Hurts and Murray, and Williams made GB pay. I thought the Packers missed Preston on the zone reads more so than the scrambles.

Jason from Mt. Prospect, IL

I have submitted probably five questions to II about how dangerously unimpressive our pass rush is, and has been all season. I'm not sure why, but the topic is clearly something some people prefer to ignore, until recently. Now, after allowing Caleb Williams to have the best performance of his young career, with one of the worst offensive lines I have maybe ever seen, is it OK to talk about yet? We are in deep trouble with this lackluster pass rush … STILL.

Well, the Bears got their starting offensive tackles back from injury, so that can't be discounted. Overall, people have harped on the pass rush, but I break it down as follows: Rush to contain vs. Philly and Indy, eight sacks at Tennessee, poor game vs. Minnesota, adequate pressure to make Rams-Cardinals-Texans QBs uncomfortable, one game-changing play vs. Jaguars, not good enough vs. Lions and Bears (until final drive). Translation: Highly inconsistent, for various reasons. Yes, the Packers need some answers, and it's on Hafley and the players to find them. But this narrative about a problem "all season" is not accurate in my opinion.

Ralph from West Milwaukee, WI

Why no quarterback spy?

It looked to me like they tried a couple times and it didn't work.

Tony from Oconomowoc, WI

So, the Bears are sending video of the blocked field goal into the league office because they said we were lined up over the center. I've watched the video several times and don't see any foul. Am I missing something? Are the Bears just looking to make an excuse for the blown coverage? Sad!

I went over this on "Unscripted" because I didn't explain it well in Monday's column. The long snapper is protected from contact when his head is down, but he's not allowed to just keep his head down to prevent any rushing of the A gaps. On the film, the long snapper never brings his head up.

Gary from Bear Valley, WI

Speaking of proverbial middle finger, did the Detroit player get fined for using two proverbial middle fingers at Packers fans? Is so, was the fine double?

He got two fines – one for the illegal hit, the other for the gesture.

Mike from New Orleans, LA

I know we all tend to be prisoners of the now, but I wonder where you rank that in Packers-Bears games since your time on the beat. For me, the 2018 comeback will always be No. 1, followed by the NFC Championship (based solely on impact). This one is certainly up there though.

Time on the beat? Maybe top five. Maybe. But overall, you're talking to someone whose first NFL game was seeing Rich Campbell's bomb to Phillip Epps in the final minute at Soldier Field in Dec. 1984.

Ken from New Berlin, WI

What next?

Another opportunity to make progress. Dan has the floor.

Dan from Wausau, WI

So, the Bears are two plays from being 6-4 instead of 4-6, and the Packers are three plays from being 4-6 instead of 7-3. It's a crazy league. We can look at Sunday's game from a glass half full perspective (they won despite not playing well) or a glass half empty perspective (they struggled with many of the same things that plagued them before the bye). I'm just thankful the glass hasn't run dry yet and there's still a lot of meaningful football to be played. On to the 49ers.

Happy Wednesday.