TK from Grafton, WI
I just set a personal record by having my questions published on three consecutive days! Can I make it four?
No.
Joe from Wausau, WI
Will starters on offense play more in the preseason games because Jordan Love needs more reps than Aaron Rodgers would? Or will Matt LaFleur put Love out there behind a second-team offensive line?
Maybe the young guys such as Jon Runyan and Josh Myers, but I see no reason to have Billy Turner, Elgton Jenkins and Lucas Patrick take any more snaps than they usually do in a preseason – which isn't much to begin with.
Jim from Tucson, AZ
All the talking (and writing) heads argue ad nauseum about which team had the best draft. Let's flip it and talk about which draftee got the best deal. I think you could make a good choice with Josh Myers. Rookie linemen don't start in this league, do they? Josh might. He might have a solid 10-year career right here.
The Packers' offensive line is a testament to how there's no direct line to success in the NFL. David Bakhtiari is a Hall of Fame-caliber left tackle who was a fourth-round pick. Turner was cut twice before landing with the Broncos, while Patrick was a tryout player at a Packers rookie minicamp. We won't know much about Myers' game until the pads go on this summer but everything to this point has been encouraging.
Ross from Roswell, NM
Gents, what's with the Ohio State centers coming to Green Bay and anchoring the line for five-plus years? First, Corey Linsley and now hopefully Myers. Is it the pro-style offense they run at Ohio State that so prepares these guys to step right in at the next level?
It's been like that going back to the "Sweater Vest" era. The Buckeyes are a football factory, but they have quite the track record with centers. Between Linsley and Myers, the Bengals drafted Billy Price (first round, 2018) and Michael Jordan (fourth round, 2019) in back-to-back years. Hopefully, Myers follows in those footsteps.
Doug from Neenah, WI
Good morning. Evan Siegle's photos certainly help tell the stories of young players at minicamp. In his last batch, photo 46 of 98 shows Vernon Scott with a tattoo on his left arm saying "Round 7, Pick 236." Obviously, this refers to his selection by Green Bay in the 2020 draft. Is this his badge of honor or do you suppose he uses it for motivation with the belief he should have been taken higher? Thank you.
You know, I hadn't noticed that before. But knowing a little about his backstory, I'm guessing Scott wears that as both a badge of honor and for motivation. He's a guy who had to make a lot of sacrifices in college to help care for his family, while also being highly overlooked despite having ideal size and speed for his position. Scott and Henry Black are two young safeties to keep an eye on this summer.
Dar from Mansfield, WI
Sniff...there must be a lot of pollen here in Inbox because I just got done watching "You Can If You Will: The Jerry Kramer Story," and my eyes are watery. What a man! While it's certainly true the Packers helped make him, it's also clear he helped make us. Thanks to the Packers and the documentary's sponsors (Kohler and the IBEW) for bringing such wonderful content to packers.com. It's a must-watch for all fans and makes me feel lucky to be a part of this community.
I haven't had a chance to see it yet, but I'm excited to check the documentary out. Kramer has such an inspiring story that spans the totality of his 85 years. Unfortunately, he's one of only a few connections we have to the greatest 10-year run in Packers history. That's all the more reason to appreciate his greatness.
Dave from Germantown, WI
While I commend Aaron Jones' participation in the last week of the OTAs, did he take reps from the candidates for the No. 3 running back on the roster?
But whose reps were there to take? The only two other running backs in attendance were Patrick Taylor and Kylin Hill. Plus, have you seen how running backs are utilized in training camp and the preseason? There will be more than enough reps to go around. The same goes for Jones and AJ Dillon depending on what the Packers want to do. Also, to anyone submitting, please do me a favor: I know it says "State/Country" in the submission area, but if you're in the U.S., say which state you're in. It saves us (me) time.
Jason from Woodbury, MN
Sawyer from Simpsonville and Ben from Burlington are both partly correct regarding employers and the vaccine. The EEOC did rule that employers may mandate vaccines for all employees physically coming into work; however, other legislation at the federal, state, or even local level may prevent employers from mandating vaccines for employees. This is why it is just so much easier for large employers to incentivize the vaccine, which is what the NFL is doing, as Dean from Leavenworth pointed out.
I certainly don't envy HR folks right now. The NFL, the NFLPA and the Packers organization are emphasizing information and education to players – and I think that's all you can do.
Tyler from Cartersville, GA
Would having a team based in Honolulu present the same logistical problems as having a team in London?
I don't think so. The Mountain West seems to have made it work OK.
John from Yakima, WA
As it is the dead zone but always tax season, which of the away-game locations takes the largest tax bite of your paycheck? Also, do the rookies get briefed on the up and down of their net pay due to away games?
My wife – our resident tax guru – reports that we wrote a nice check to California after taxes last year.
David from San Antonio, TX
Wes, I'm recently retired and enjoying the offseason! Was breaking down the film of the recent "Unscripted." Noticed Mike wears an undershirt beneath his polo and wears a watch. No wedding ring, watch, or tee for you, Wes. Not sure what to take from this. My question: Am I okay?
You're OK but I can tell you're retired. Haha. I'm still happily married but I stopped wearing my wedding ring when I came back into the office last August. I have a knack for misplacing things and adding a mask into the equation created another layer of stress. Don't believe me? I managed to lose seven (count 'em) Packers masks over the past 12 months. Shout out to HR maven Chris Cohorst for always being gracious every time I went back to him with my tail between my legs.
Kyle from St. Charles, MO
"What are the Packers planning to do if Aaron Rodgers doesn't show up to training camp?" *Deleeeeeeete* Spoff electing to take the high road. Must be a Friday.
And in the process, making my life easier heading into the weekend. Spoff's a good teammate.
Rebecca from Madison, WI
Insiders, in Dan from Kenosha's question, about AR's response in his presser that he enjoyed the offseason, you mentioned everything he has put into to making sure he plays into his 40s. I personally feel this is at the heart of his discontent. He has mentioned his desire to finish his career in Green Bay many times, and possibly in his mind, it fell on deaf ears in management. I can see where that would hurt but I do understand management's need to cover all their bases. I hope it gets resolved.
That last sentence. Read that again because that's everything. Whatever has happened, I still hope it can be ironed out. I offer no more dates or probabilities – just hope.
Renee from Black Creek, WI
Who's ready to "Get Loud Lambeau"? Let's go! Can't wait to be back in the stadium!
It's going to be tougher getting to the press box next season, but it's worth it to welcome back fans to Lambeau Field, I suppose.
Ben from Pensacola, FL
So, let's say the best-case scenario plays out and our 12 comes back. Is it selfish of me to want him to not actually participate as much in training camp, thereby allowing Love more "first" reps. Last year we were blessed with Rodgers being healthy all season. He doesn't really need much to play at his elite level. Hopefully if he plays for us, he will be again, but I also want the best version of Jordan Love backing our guy up if he were to miss time with an injury.
I'm confident Rodgers could step on the field and still play at an MVP level without a full offseason program or training camp, but I also know how much Rodgers values those summer team reps. It's a roundabout way of admitting I'm not sure.
Brian from Mesa, AZ
"Get Jordan Love ready to play"? What is the situation with Blake Bortles?
I don't know how many times I need to say this but here we go again – if it's not Rodgers, then it's Love. That's the situation. There is no QB competition. Blake Bortles' job right now is to compete with Kurt Benkert and Jake Dolegala for the No. 2 or No. 3 gig.
Margeaux from Tallahassee, FL
I, who on occasion will watch golf telecasts have zero interest in watching "The Match." This, by the way, has nothing to do with any news about one of the participants often discussed in II. You can guess who that would be. Will either of you be watching?
Probably not. That has nothing to do with Rodgers' situation, though. I don't watch golf but I really don't watch golf during that July "dead zone" on the sports calendar. But I'll trust the millions of experts on Twitter will be more than willing to enlighten me on how it's going.
David from Appleton, WI
Hello Insiders! When players are drafted, are they assigned their uniform number, can they request specific uniform numbers, or are the players given a selection of numbers to choose from?
I recall both Rashan Gary and Blake Martinez talking in the past about how they were given options to choose from. Both picked their number based on former Packers: Martinez No. 50 (A.J. Hawk) and Gary No. 52 (Clay Matthews). I'm not sure if all draft picks get to do that, though.
Dick from Moline, IL
Are there any former Packer draft picks (J'Mon Moore as an example) that have made it in the league and done well?
Moore isn't in the league right now, so I'm not completely sure what you mean by that. Lawrence Guy and Clark Harris are the two players, in recent history, who enjoyed the most NFL success after being Packers draft picks but never playing in an actual game for Green Bay.
Eric from Green Bay, WI
In response to Sandra from Menominee Falls: It's concerning to me that people don't know the differences between reporting, reacting, and commenting. I think this leads into Spoff's notion of not clicking on the reactor's links.
I stood on a soapbox about this for probably a month last summer, but this is why I get so upset at what I call click-bait, Facebook-aggregated garbage articles such as "Five Packers who should be cut this summer…and five who shouldn't" or people writing stories off what other commentators are saying. In my experience, the average fan (y'all definitely aren't the average fan, by the way) isn't mature enough to handle and process that content. It creates a bad game of "Telephone," where what started as "So-and-so thinks the Packers should trade Rodgers" to "the Packers want to trade Rodgers" in your local pub. People can consume whatever content they want to consume, but it's still my right to call it nonsense.
Scott from Lincoln City, OR
Hey Wes, Mike concedes that you are the more meticulous one but as long as his brain is capable of coming up with, and correctly spelling, words like minutiae, he's doing just fine. Wishing you both a great Father's Day!
That comes from my newspaper days. I still like charting all the plays in team periods and keep the yardage. It's nice to look back on those (extremely unofficial) stats when writing my practice recaps in training camp.
Nic from London, UK
Did you guys get new headshots? Maybe I just haven't noticed but something looked different to me so I scrolled back to the byline and I could swear that a crisp new Wes staring back at me.
Yes, we did. Now, I'm all grow'ed up.
Derek from Eau Claire, WI
You only get one condiment to use for the rest of your life. Which one are you picking? I would go Frank's Hot Sauce.
Soy sauce.
James from Ottawa, Ontario
II, with Wes's allocation of QB points, the breakdown was: 83 accuracy, 82 awareness, 80 arm strength and 50 speed. From that, I deduce 1) Wes didn't love spamming the Vick-led Falcons like the rest of us with that 50-speed score, and 2) The Inbox and math just don't add up.
I was hoping someone would catch that.
Dennis from Parrish, FL
I think the ONLY thing that really matters this week is, does Shaboom's still have a disco night?
The first rule of Shaboom's is you do not talk about Disco Night. The second rule of Shaboom's is you DO NOT TALK about Disco Night!
Dean from Leavenworth, IN
From the Dalai Lama: "If someone hurts you and asks for forgiveness, forgive them. To not do so is like drinking poison and hoping they die."
Is this about the lunches, Dean? How many times do I need to repeat myself? I forgive you, Spoff. I forgive you.
Vinny from Arlington, VA
In honor of Father's Day weekend, I wanted to give a shout-out to the Hodfather or is it Hodzilla? Seems like the II catalog could use some Hodfather and Hodzilla merch. You can look to AJ Dillon as an example for marketing, branding, and promotional expertise.
It wouldn't sell nearly as well. Trust me. OK, I'm punching out. I wish you all a meaningful Juneteenth and the happiest of Father's Days to the dads out there on Sunday.
