Dar from Mansfield, TX

It should be mentioned that, though there might exist a couple dozen cities with the name of Weston, Weston is not a geographical place to us. It is more a state of mind. Perhaps like Narnia. Or Oz.

I see you all resumed feeding his ego again while I was away.

Mitch from Eagle River, WI

Wes on the Josh Jacobs receiving TD to open the year: That ain't no guess. That's what it's going to be.

Need I say more?

Tom from Indianapolis, IN

Speaking of the Chargers, I believe Rivers went to a silent count late in the game when the Packers visited San Diego in 2011.

Indeed he did. That's the first time I can recall covering a Packers road game where that occurred.

Josh from Newhall, CA

I wanted to comment I agree about "Hard Knocks." The original training camp version was great. It gave us a rare insight to the player and team perspectives, and the work and drama involved in making a team. But it feels like too much now. Too intrusive. The players off-field lives are becoming fodder for entertainment and it feels dehumanizing to me. But is this another case of putting the toothpaste back in the tube after potential dollar signs are seen?

Pretty much. I would think at some point more fans would grow tired of it, but that point may be a long ways off.

Rich from El Cerrito, CA

Mike, what is the greatest breach of journalist's etiquette you have seen in the press box? Let's ignore of course Vic waving his Terrible Towel when the Pack played the Steelers.

Ha. I think I've mentioned before being in the auxiliary press box at the "old" Lambeau in my mid-'90s Wausau Daily Herald days and hearing radio reporters from around the state just openly cheering during the game as though they were watching it on TV. That was over several games and got really annoying, but I had just started getting press passes to cover games and didn't feel it was my place to rock anybody's boat. Since I've been here, one specific instance I'll never forget was the audible uproar from the New York half of the press box when Lawrence Tynes' OT field goal sailed through in the 2007 NFC title game. That really caught me off-guard.

Jim from St. Pete Beach, FL

Hi Wes! You have mentioned Jordan Love's steadiness many times as a positive attribute. What do you think he learned from his last offensive play of the season that he will bring into 2024?

I'll take this one, because I asked Love specifically about that play when I did a sit-down interview with him for the Yearbook cover story (another shameless plug for my soon-to-be-published work, I know). He basically said he can't try to be Superman and make every play, which is hard to do when it's the playoffs and everything's on the line. But I think he learned there's no walking into a phone booth for a crunch-time, postseason drive.

Samuel from Skokie, IL

I'm as excited and optimistic as it seems most Packers fans are. I have two nagging worries. We will be relying to some extent on rookies. Rookies need experience, so there will be mistakes. We always hear about the second-year jump. Also, it is always said you need a year or two to adjust to a new system. So, the defense needs time. Do you think next year is really our year?

I don't think there's any such thing, so I don't look at it that way. Teams that win championships have to improve over the course of a season, be playing their best football when it matters, and catch a break or two (usually in the officiating and/or health departments). A team that went through a reset in 2023 grew a lot. There's more growing to do, with a whole new set of challenges.

Dave from Middletown, CT

Hoping to take advantage of the dead zone to acquire some learning. Could you please define three-technique, five-technique, etc., as it pertains to defensive players?

Think of the line of scrimmage as a number line that goes both ways but with no negative numbers. Straight across from the center is zero, and the numbers increase one at a time, in each direction, with each alignment spot. One is between the center and guard, two is head-up on the guard, three is between the guard and tackle (usually referred to as the outside shoulder of the guard), and so on. The five is the outside shoulder of the tackle. So when you hear announcers refer to an edge rusher as the "wide-nine" technique, that's lining up outside two tight ends, whether or not those tight ends are actually there.

TK from Grafton, WI

Is it outdated thinking to expect that in a 4-3, the left end is more of a power/run stopper and the right end is more of a pass rusher? Of course, if both ends want to dominate with full consistency, I'll not stand in the way.

Defense is now so situationally based with various packages and ready-made substitutions, yes, that is a bit outdated.

Jessi from Sterling, KS

Wes, you were talking about how you watch a practice. Picking positions, etc., to hone in on or you'll miss everything. I find I can miss a lot during a game because of this, and find myself on various plays looking at different things, but it frustrates me because I still miss things! Is there a trick you guys use in watching during games to catch the highest amount of action?

You're always going to miss pieces of the action, lots of them, because there's so much going on. The best anyone can do to help understand a play as it unfolds – which Wes and I do in the press box all the time – is to take note of the personnel deployed by both sides. If the offense has at least three receivers out there, is the defense in nickel or dime? When the offense goes to two tight ends, does the defense switch to base or stay in nickel? That's practically impossible to do watching on TV, because the pre-snap view doesn't show the entire defense. But we're doing it from upstairs constantly (me mentally and Wes jotting it down, as my fingers are on the keyboard). An extension of that, which can be gleaned from TV particularly on passing downs, is to watch the defensive front. How many defenders are up on the line of scrimmage as though they're rushing the QB, and how many actually rush at the snap? How many drop? Does somebody join the pass rush (e.g., blitz) from off the ball or the slot? Are there any free runners or did the offense's protection call pick everyone up? When watching closely, those are all key aspects that can be mentally processed as an observer before the QB makes the throw or gets hit, which can help explain why or how a play succeeded or failed.

Yotam from Atlit, Israel

I recently came across the 2013 comeback win with Matt Flynn against the Cowboys. It made me think, were there any backup quarterbacks behind Rodgers or Favre that could have been our next franchise QB if only the timing was different? I mean, if Love was drafted two or even one year earlier, he might not be where he is today, instead bouncing from one practice squad to another.

That level of talent isn't bouncing around practice squads much, if at all. But to your question, as far as Favre-Rodgers backup QBs who actually made the 53 (so Kurt Warner doesn't count), Mark Brunell and Matt Hasselbeck are the two who became franchise QBs elsewhere. Aaron Brooks became a five-plus-year starter for the Saints but never reached the level of success and the franchise QB status of the other two.

Sam from Iowa City, IA

I'm fascinated by small-school guys that make it big. Lyle Alzado was discovered in Yankton, SD, by a scout whose car broke down and needed something to do. Snacks Harrison played on the same team as my brother-in-law at William Penn in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Fred Jackson played at Coe College in Cedar Rapids. What's the best small-school player story for a Packers player that you know of?

There's a long list, but as far as players I've covered in my time here, Donald Driver from Alcorn State, Nick Collins from Bethune-Cookman and Tramon Williams from Louisiana Tech rank right up there. I guess it partly depends on your definition of "small school," but JC Tretter from Cornell and Aaron Jones from UTEP also come to mind.

Venny from Montgomery, AL

Is the OL really one of the big question marks going into training camp? There is potential for five members from last year's group to be starters Day 1, if you include Sean Rhyan. I don't have any data to support, but I thought as Jordan Love improved in the second half of the season, the offensive line improved almost as much. There were more 100-yard games from Aaron Jones and it felt like Love wasn't too rushed to throw.

I think there are questions as to just how the offensive line might get sorted out in training camp – particularly where Jordan Morgan ends up and whether he makes a push for a starting job – but the Packers are confident in whom they have. Rasheed Walker and Rhyan are short on experience compared to past Green Bay O-lines, and Zach Tom is coming back from a significant injury, so nothing's guaranteed. But this group is by no means a finished product.

Keith from Springfield, MO

Is there an NFL defense that is essentially identical both in style and spirit to what coach Hafley is installing, or very similar? Related to the answer on LaFleur being "true to himself," it is fascinating that Wes's response mirrors a Shakespeare quote: "...be true to thyself and it shall follow as night the day. Thou cans't then not be false to any man" – or close to that. The players certainly must respect Coach LaFleur for this quality.

They do, but I don't think LaFleur got that advice from Polonius. At least I sure hope he didn't.

Dave from Waterford, OH

"Open Door Policy" maybe?

I need some more PTO.

Scott from Arden, NC

As a cheesehead living in Western North Carolina, it made me smile to hear that Vic is living in my neck of the woods. I will be on the lookout for him as I am out and about. Would love to run into such an esteemed Packer celebrity. Thanks for the content and the II movie and show references. Can never have too much Seinfeld.

Careful. You get a sense of it, then you look away.

Jeff from Madison, WI

Not a question, but clarification. Tom from Baraga was definitely misinformed by that bar owner. 1919 root beer has nothing to do with Lambeau Field and everything to do with the year Prohibition started.

I don't think I could've survived Prohibition. I know my grandpa certainly wasn't a fan.

Dave from Lakewood Ranch, FL

Not being flippant, I really want to know the answer. How is it technology allows the game of tennis to determine within seconds whether a ball traveling 120 mph is in or out, but it requires a gaggle of officials three minutes to determine whether a receiver has two feet in bounds?

Happy Monday.