Inbox: They can gash you from all angles

Phil from Marietta, GA

So … we can look ahead to the Lions now?

Gladly.

Phillip from Wonder Lake, IL

How after two narrow wins can the Packers even come close to winning against the Lions?

Because every week is a new one in this league.

Josh from Seattle, WA

With every challenge comes opportunity. This week presents opportunity to show unscouted looks and creativity on offense to attack the Lions with their own style of trickery. I think to win we have to be the more physical team, and the more creative team. What do you think we need to do win?

More points? Sorry, couldn't resist. But it's the trenches, for sure. Last year in that Thursday night home game, the Lions flat-out owned the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. In the rematch on Thanksgiving, that wasn't the case. These guys punch people in the mouth, and you have to be able to punch back.

Chas from Modena, WI

Do you think the Packers will be able to disrupt Jared Goff rushing four or will they have to blitz to get the job done?

Jeff Hafley would love to know, too. Plan for everything you might need, see how it goes, and adjust. Health amongst the DBs will be a factor.

Paul from West Allis, WI

Good day II all! To this present date I can't personally say that I have seen enough consistency, balance, or execution in all three phases to complement each other in a full game. Now would be a great time to see it in order to beat this Lions team. What will it take?

Aside from winning the turnover battle, winning the explosive-play battle as well. Last week against the Titans, the Lions had a 70-yard TD run, 90-yard punt return for a TD, and a 72-yard kickoff return. The week before at Minnesota, they had a 45-yard TD run and six different players caught a pass of 18 yards or more. They can gash you from all angles. The Packers have to limit those and do some gashing of their own.

H.R. from Henderson, NV

JL10 is day-to-day, which is pretty good news. Has he been in the system long enough where he could miss practice all week to heal and still take the field Sunday? Practice is paramount, but could he work through meetings and get the mental part down in time without those reps?

I believe so, yes. That's what I took LaFleur's comment, "If he can go, he'll go," to mean.

Scott from Hamlin, NY

Credit to Malik Willis doing a great job to get the team wins but Jordan Love obviously gives us a better chance to win. If Love can go, I like a run-heavy game plan that doesn't ask Love to do too much to protect the injury and pick your shots. Call it like Willis is playing but defenses will have to respect the threat of Love's passing attack.

Popular theory. We shall see. There's so much to weigh, including whether Love's injury would limit him to shotgun only. Not being able to go under center might hamper the run game and even more so play-action.

Tom from Fort Myers, FL

If not for three Lions fumbles on Thanksgiving last year, including a Jonathan Owens scoop and score, the Packers would have a five-game losing streak vs. the Lions. On top of protecting the ball, what is the best way to attack the Lions' defense?

In my opinion, it's through the air. Joseph has five INTs and Branch has four, so you definitely have to be careful, but Detroit's secondary has been flagged a bunch. Opponents have 24 first downs via penalty this season, and the Lions' best pass rusher is on IR. Be ready for a physical game on the perimeter, and attack there.

Marin from West Lawn, PA

If Malik Willis gets the start on Sunday, how much of an emphasis in the play-calling will reflect on playing off the strengths of Willis' skill set?

A considerable amount. The game plans against the Colts and Titans earlier this season were built with Willis in mind. But he also knows so much more of the offense now, so the coaches at this point can probably build a game plan for either QB, and then the priorities at the top of the call sheet might differ a bit depending on who's playing.

Jennifer from Middleton, WI

Hi Spoff, up until last week, the defense seemed to be on a good trajectory of solid performances week over week and you could see it coming together with more moments of greatness than breakdowns. If we had continued that against the Jags, I would have felt better going into the Lions. All of those explosive plays have me nervous. Ever since you coined the phrase "optimism without expectations" years ago, that has stuck in my brain. Is that the answer more than usual going against their O?

The Jags game started as a continuation of what the defense had been building. Four straight possessions, no first downs. Then the explosives hit and the bangs didn't stop. LaFleur confessed to a domino effect when Williams left the game and players shifted spots in the back end, so hopefully they get the reps this week where they need them and everything settles back down. The Lions are rolling with all the points they're putting up, but a couple moments to disrupt their rhythm can go a long way.

Steve from Ankeny, IA

Regarding our defensive struggles at the end of the game, I think Evan Williams' loss was definitely a factor. But what surprised me was we went to mostly a cover 2, which means give them the short passes and tackle them. It seemed we really struggled with the "tackle them" part. Your thoughts?

That's exactly what LaFleur pointed out on Monday. It wasn't one of the defense's better tackling games.

Eric from Liberty Township, OH

To me, the matchup Sunday against the Lions really highlights the stellar job that the Packers' front office and coaching staff have done. The Lions were so bad for so long and collected high draft choices each year, they almost got good in spite of themselves (with Dan Campbell being the final touch). Meanwhile the Packers have fine-tuned and retooled each year with mid to low draft positions and select free agent signings.

Campbell may have been the final touch, but having a GM like Brad Holmes in charge of those high draft picks instead of his various predecessors made a huge difference, too.

Gary from Chippewa Falls, WI

The Lions do not get enough credit for hiring the HC outside the box. Every year there is the usual hot coordinator that more times that not cannot meet expectations. Owners need to cast a wider net to get the next Dan Campbell. Mike Ditka did okay.

So has John Harbaugh.

Ken from New York, NY

I thought that keeping the clock ticking is a Timex slogan.

Not when you make millions of dollars.

Mark from Eureka, IL

I'm not sold on the Rolex concept in that situation Sunday, but see the value in other instances. I was remembering the bad snap on last week's FG. Declining the easy TD was risky, snap, new kicker, etc. With 54 seconds and 70 yards to score and no timeouts, I'd have taken the touchdown.

Lots of folks asking about this. Killing the clock for a walk-off chip shot is absolutely the way to go. No debate. Can something go wrong? Sure. But a field goal well inside PAT distance is about a 99% proposition. The way the Jaguars had marched down the field on their last two possessions – they had just gone 87 yards for a TD in 2:02 without using a timeout – giving Lawrence the ball back was 50-50 for the defense, at best. Trying to let the Packers score was the right call on the Jaguars' part, too. Sorry about the math, but you play the odds.

George from North Mankato, MN

After watching the replay a few more times, two things are readily apparent. Edgerrin Cooperis coming into his own and nobody should play musical chairs against Devonte Wyatt.

Musical chairs. Ha, good one.

Bryan from Oshkosh, WI

Another simple viewpoint on the question from Mike in San Diego, is that while the Packers have simply "survived" in some of these games, they LOST these games last year (ATL, PIT, DEN, NYG, LV, etc). Progress is progress, it is not going to be linear but we're going in the right direction.

True that.

David from Minneapolis, MN

To put into perspective what Willis has done, he has won three games this year (the Packers were down when he took over and he outside the Jags so I'm giving him the win). Seven teams have fewer wins than Willis, including one with a former Packers QB on it. That is nuts.

Maybe even bonkers. Or bananapants.

Juan from Miami, FL

Good morning II. Do you think approaching the halfway point in the season and how it has played out, that the Packers should be thinking about offering an extension contract to Malik Willis, or do think he might have already priced out of reach? I would try to lock it up.

As Ted Thompson used to say, it takes two to tango, and I fully expect after next year Willis will want to sign somewhere he can compete for a starting job. That's not in Green Bay.

Tony from Chanhassen, MN

Hi Gents! Thanks for all you do. I was wondering if you take requests for What You Might've Missed? We heard Malik Willis and Matt LaFleur both talk about how they ran the same play with the same "can" action at the end of the game. In the WYMM, could you show us both of the pre-snap looks that caused Willis to keep the run call on the first play and "can" on the second play?

I was working on it long before you sent in your submission. There was a technical glitch when it was first posted, but that's been fixed in case anyone wants/needs to go back to it.

Steve from Ellison Bay, WI

Something I keep seeing is Josh Jacobs trying to avoid running over a camera person, not quite being able to stop, and then obvious concern the person was OK. Is that a fair description of how you know him?

Yes.

Matt from Bloomington, IN

The Jaguars website's daily mailbag column featured tons of fans trashing their QB's play. Everything from he's just average to he needs to be traded immediately. I know he had two costly turnovers, but I actually thought that Lawrence made some huge throws down the stretch (sometimes beating the blitz or hitting backup receivers). What did you think of his performance?

He was impressive, and if he'd gotten the ball one more time, he might've been able to overcome the two killer mistakes near his own goal line that led to 14 points in a three-point game. But they're called killer mistakes for a reason.

Margeaux from Tallahassee, FL

Watching the game on TV it often sounds like road games are Packer home games. Was the turnout in Jax up to GB fandom standards? It sure sounded like it.

Definitely. Nashville, LA and Jacksonville have all seen incredible turnouts. I don't expect anything like those in the remainder of the Packers' road games.

Ian from Kirkwhelpington, UK

Gents, great to meet you both at the pep rally on Saturday. A rules question for you. In the third quarter, after a Jags kickoff, the Pack took over at the 20-yard line. Was that because the ball bounced in play?

Great to meet you as well. Correct, if the ball bounces from the landing zone (between the 20 and goal line) into the end zone and isn't returned, the touchback puts it on the 20.

Tom from Keota, IA

The rule against chortling is leaguewide. The Bears DB who tipped the Hail Mary pass into the air was taunting a Washington fan in the stands...*as the play was starting*. Oops.

And his assignment on the play, according to the head coach, was to box out the tip guy.

Paula from Apple Valley, MN

How much cheering could be heard on the plane ride home when Washington scored on the Hail Mary? Asking for a friend.

There was an audible eruption in the cabin for sure. I was half-expecting the pilot to come on the PA and ask if everything was OK.

Lori from Brookfield, WI

The Commanders beat the Bears with a successful Hail Mary pass. Has a team ever won this way without scoring a touchdown during the regulation part of the game?

Outstanding question. I wish I knew the answer. If anyone does …

Corey from Seattle, WA

What has been going on with the live blog? Two weeks in a row it just stopped working. You could even see active participants drop from 2K to 1K every time it happened. The league needs to clean that blog service up.

They're still working on it. Fortunately, it didn't freeze me out again this past game, but I've heard from other folks that if it does lock up, closing it out and going back in fresh can restart it on the user end.

Paul from Cumming, GA

Mike, "Time to send it in, pack it up, and head for the pressers." sounds like a fine sign off to me!

Thanks for all the suggestions, folks, but I think I'll just stick with "Gotta go."

John from Hudson, WI

In a forum that doesn't allow its readers to look at games weeks in advance, I can't help but wonder how this team will come out over the next month. Are you curious too or are you going to snarkily say just beat the Lions? There's no way you haven't looked at our upcoming schedule and imagined how it unfolds. Gerry was right, and you're both full of it.

OK.

Dennis from De Pere, WI

Hold on! After admonishing us not to look ahead to the Lions game, did Spoff really start discussing the bye week? Mercy.

You should see my yard.

Mike from Ames, IA

I never get tired of Spoff "keepin' it real," I think I just get tired of reality.

Don't we all. Happy Wednesday.