Inbox: The Packers won't be playing in front of the same crowds

Ferdinand from Woodbury, MN

I appreciate your willingness to occasionally provide a peek into the pithy "fan"atic Inbox you have to deal with on a regular basis. Have you ever considered just lumping them all into one dedicated day with categories of troll submissions (all with "OK" replies)?

Oh, it's crossed my mind.

Phillip from Wonder Lake, IL

Do we have to accept third place, or can we still take division this season?

Nobody's accepting third place, and the division is not out of reach, but the Lions are certainly in firm control. From the Packers' perspective, I'd say focus on getting back in front of the Vikings first and then see where things stand.

Mark from Seattle, WA

Hi guys, we need to get Josh Jacobs the ball more.

He's averaging 17.5 carries per game, and I would surmise if it weren't for early deficits of 28-0 and 24-3 in the two division games, that average would be higher.

Dylan from Amery, WI

"It's just too bad Green Bay couldn't make Detroit pay." I think we'll have two more chances …

I see what you did there. Sign me up.

Zak from Huntington Beach, CA

Do you think a good team generally gets more benefit from a bye week when it follows a loss than they do when it follows a win? The risk of complacency or regression seems much higher after a big win. You know, "resting on your laurels" and whatnot.

Your guess is as good as mine. For what it's worth, under LaFleur, in 2019 and '20, the Packers won going into the bye and lost coming out of it. In '21 and '22, they won on both ends of the bye. Last year, they lost on both ends.

James from Eagle, ID

I feel bad for Elgton Jenkins. He has been a consummate professional, but was playing out of position under poor conditions. Obviously, not a situation for Josh Myers with an injured hand. With Myers approaching free agency, is there anyone in the wings who looks like an alternate center?

I'm not concerned about Myers' pending free agency until the offseason, but the next center up would be rookie Jacob Monk. He hasn't played in a game yet, though, so I totally understand the coaches going with Jenkins to stick with the "best five" philosophy and insert Jordan Morgan at guard. Things just didn't work out on a tough day. Jenkins had to deal with snapping mostly shotguns with a wet ball, and Morgan had one glaring pass protection error that came on the fateful pick-six. (Stuff) happens.

Jeff from Dorr, MI

Another source reported that on the pick-six play it appeared they were looking to take a shot to Jayden Reed and he had beat his guy but pressure interfered. Curious if you had seen anything?

Yes, Reed had found a big opening in the zone deep downfield and if the pocket had held up, the Packers would've been in business to get points before halftime.

Roy from Beaver Falls, PA

First time asking. Has anyone else noticed that Jordan Love has just been a bit off on his passes this season? So many are low or just a bit behind his receivers. In the sloppy conditions Sunday, dropped passes. Goff's passes were right on target. Lower limb problems altering his delivery?

I don't know about altering his delivery, but a QB's foundation can affect accuracy, yes.

Gary from Davenport, IA

Did one of Wednesday's replies end up on the cutting room floor? Your sub-headline said, "The days of friendly road venues are over for this season." None of the responses had anything to do with that so I hope it gets inserted in another Inbox. It sounded like an interesting topic.

It wasn't anything elaborate, but I don't know how that response just vanished from the column, so I'm reprinting the Q/A here:

Josh from Easton, PA

In our last six home NFC North games, we have a record of 1-5. It's hard to win in this league, but it's even harder to win on the road. It is critical for us to finish down the stretch fired up and ready to play in hostile environments.

Yeah, the days of friendly road venues are over for this season. In Chicago, Detroit, Seattle and Minnesota, the Packers won't be playing in front of the same crowds as they did in Tennessee, L.A. and Jacksonville.

Gary from Sheboygan, WI

Morning Insiders, I may be in trouble looking too far ahead, but with the trade deadline passed, what draft picks do the Packers have now, at least until March, in next year's draft?

I believe the Packers are back to having one in each round, after trading away a seventh for Malik Willis but getting a seventh back for Preston Smith. One compensatory seventh-round pick is projected to be added to that total.

Mark from San Antonio, TX

Not a question, just an observation. The fact that no one reported on Preston requesting a trade seems to indicate the mutual respect that both team and player had for each other. Really grateful for Preston and his influence on the "rebuild," and I'm glad he went to another franchise with a strong culture. Best of luck in black and yellow!

I think they call it black and gold in Pittsburgh, but I digress. You're right about the mutual respect. Smith handled his discontent like a pro, same as how he handled everything else.

Gary from Arvada, CO

Good morning, Mike. I understand Preston Smith's salary cap hit would be $13.4 million next year and $14.1 million in 2026. Does the full $27.5 million abrogate for the Packers and inure to the Steelers?

Nobody's on the hook for anything at this point beyond the Steelers paying Smith the rest of his '24 salary and roster bonuses. He's under contract for two more years but with no guaranteed money, so if healthy he can be released or restructured in the offseason with no cap consequence.

Rich from Janesville, WI

Hey Wes or Mike, I read a question about which duo would you want with the game on the line. Wes said Jordy and A-Rod which I do agree, they made beautiful music. I know Wes is a younger lad but I have to ask, Wes, did you see Favre to Sharpe?

Wes was still in kindergarten or thereabouts when Sharpe retired. I think part of the beauty of the Favre and Rodgers careers was how they had different go-to guys in those moments at various stages along the way. For Favre, first it was Sharpe, then Freeman, then Driver. For Rodgers, it started with Jennings, then Nelson (and Cobb), and finally Adams. All the combos had their stretches.

Craig from Sussex, WI

I know they're professionals but wouldn't it make sense to simplify the cadence to maybe eliminate some of the offsides penalties on the offense? I realize there's more to it than that but …

Simple cadences make it easy for the defensive front to anticipate and jump the snap, which puts the offense at a distinct disadvantage. They're professionals, too.

Matt from Hawthorne, NJ

Defer every time. I get the sentiment about starting fast, though what if you go three-and-out? Giving yourself the strategic leg up on both sides of the half is critical, and far more important than any opening drive. What's more (tips hat to Inbox), most games don't start how they finish, and giving yourself the chance to try and double up or force the other team to press knowing you get the ball after half, etc.

I've always preferred to defer. Just my nature I guess. But when given the choice, whichever choice is made, it's best to cash in. That always impacts the game more than the choice itself.

Paul from Los Angeles, CA

I was sure somebody was going to jump on the response about deferring the kickoff, but apparently nobody did. I understand the concerns about the Detroit double up, but Green Bay did start the game with an eight-minute scoring drive. Granted it was only a field goal, but an eight-minute opening drive – I'll take that every time.

And if the third-down pass inside the 5-yard line is caught, that opening drive in all likelihood is worth four more points.

Bill from Clive, IA

Greetings! In Wes's reply to Alex from Rockford, he gave honorable mention to Jimmy Taylor's 1962 season in terms of total rushing yards. This got me wondering: Of all the 1,000-yard rushing seasons by Packers RBs in history, what are the top three in terms of average yards per game during said seasons? This would equalize for the changing length of seasons over time. Would Taylor come out on top in that comparison? If not, who does?

Taylor and Ahman Green are the Packers' only 1,000-yard rushers to average more than 100 yards per game over an entire season. Green averaged 117.7 in 2003, Taylor was at 105.3 in '62. Taylor's '61 season would be third on the list at 93.4.

Michael from Berrien Springs, MI

Wes: "Goff didn't make any plays that wowed me. He managed the offense and made the throws he had to make." Goff is high on the list of potential MVPs this season. I wouldn't call it game managing. I would call it taking what the defense gives you. Personally, I wouldn't mind having some of the that as opposed to beautiful 50-yard TDs bracketed by interceptions.

Wes wasn't calling Goff a game manager in any sense beyond how he won that specific game at Lambeau. The Lions are one of the most explosive offenses in the league, and they had one play of 20-plus yards against the Packers. One. As I said on "Unscripted" earlier this week, the Lions could see the Packers were playing sloppy football and they stayed in control by not making mistakes.

Ben from De Pere, WI

At the bye week of the season which players on the team from last year do you feel have improved from last season?

I don't want to attempt an exhaustive list, but if I were to select a couple players on each side of the ball as most improved from last year, I'd go with Sean Rhyan and Tucker Kraft on offense, plus Eric Wilson and Keisean Nixon on defense.

Mat from North Bay, Canada

Morning Insiders, with the increased available snaps for edge rushers and hopefully a return to health for the team at large coming out of the bye, who are your picks on each side of the ball as impact performers down the second half of this season? My votes go to Kingsley Enagbare and Christian Watson.

I like those choices.

Kemp from Richmond, VA

I've always been curiously confused by the way that in the NFL a team can look horrendous one week and beat a great team the next. Beyond that, good teams often go through long stretches of the season playing far below their potential, even excluding injuries. How do you make sense of this? 15-yard penalty for using the word chemistry in your response.

The talent in this league is fairly equally distributed, by design (cap, draft, etc.). There are the true difference-makers at the top of the heap, and then there's not much variance amongst everybody else. That's the foundation of what makes it a week-to-week league. Mike McCarthy delivered a line once that's always stuck with me. He said in the NFL, there are three types – good players, good players who have great moments, and great players. Any given Sunday, if the great players don't play great and various good players have enough great moments, plus a few calls or bounces go this way or that, anything can happen.

Chase from Carmichael, CA

Mike has indicated the Packers need to get healthy and get some practice together, but you guys have pointed to the injury reality plenty here. I think it's just a matter of being patient and letting this team learn in spite of those challenges. Even if we get healthy, it's unlikely to last. I suppose getting some consistency may help the team establish that baseline. Hopefully the bye can establish a bit of a reset.

That's the idea, as well as the ideal.

Joe from Lake Mills, WI

A question, and a suggestion. First, do you know which, if any players have remained in Green Bay for treatment of injuries during the bye? Then, although this might earn me the ire of many II readers, my suggestion is that you each take a day off during the bye. Skip Friday and Saturday Inboxes. Spend time at home, enjoy the families, rake the leaves. Come back refreshed, recharged, and maybe even a little less testy when dumb submissions are made. Yes, we'll miss you, but we will survive.

I don't know who's around for injury treatment because I don't monitor the training room and I've been working remotely for a couple days now. As for your suggestion, it's much appreciated. But we do have obligations to our sponsors. That said, I'll be writing Monday morning's column while sitting on the couch Sunday watching NFL games, so feel free to share your observations and send them along.

Mike from San Diego, CA

Sad to see some posts conceding to a season of faults that can't or won't be fixed, calling for it to be over early. Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! It ain't over now, 'cause when the goin' gets tough, the tough get goin'. Who's with me? Let's go!

Thanks for that. I really needed a dose of Blutarsky this week.

Megan from Quincy, IL

Is it the weekend yet?

Almost. Happy Friday.