Inbox: You have to focus on your team

James from Appleton, WI

Do you get the sense that other teams will get behind the Packers, I mean, right behind them, and really push for the Tush Push ban?

That's for the NFL and its clubs to decide. As many headlines as the tush push has generated over the past 48 hours, the Packers' proposal shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's paying attention. Mark Murphy said in “Murphy Takes Five” earlier this month he is "not a fan of this play."

Shane from Philadelphia, PA

With the Packers submitting a request to ban the tush push I was curious, are we the best statistical team at stopping it? According to my memory (WCBW), we stopped it twice in the Jordan Love breakout game in 2022 and once in Brazil, three times given the high-conversion percentage the Eagles have seems like it may be the best mark in the NFL.

I don't have the exact numbers, but the Packers seemed proficient enough at stopping it – at least compared to the rest of the NFL. I'm not going to go chapter and verse on this. The Packers submitted the proposal. We'll see where the chips fall at next month's league meetings in Florida.

Al from Green Bay, WI

Let's talk edge rushers. I keep hearing/reading that edge rusher is a priority for the Packers in the draft/free agency. Yet we know that Rashan Gary is a proven commodity. Murphy recently expressed he is anticipating a big jump from Lukas Van Ness in the season ahead. Also, Brenton Cox Jr. is ascending. Which is it? We have a real need at edge, or we have the horses in the stable already?

Rising tides, my friend. Brian Gutekunst told Spoff and the other reporters in Indy he's expecting Van Ness to take a big step in Year 3. In that same breath, I think we can all agree competition brings out the best in young players. Just look at what happened this year at the safety position. More answers lead to fewer questions.

Mark from Deerbrook, WI

So if you were going to put percentages on it...when GMs and coaches look at their players, the draft, and free agency, how much of their decision-making is based on what they need to do to make their team the best they can be overall, or how much is based in response to what moves other teams make, in the goal to maximize your team's strengths against division opponents' weaknesses specifically, and minimize your weaknesses against their strengths? There are only so many resources.

Gutekunst made a salient point Tuesday when asked about building the Packers' roster – you have to focus on your team, not the rest of the league. I'm not saying don't pay attention to what others are doing, but you can't lose sight of your own process of team building. During Aaron Rodgers' prime, I think the NFC North perseverated so heavily on defense and stopping Rodgers that it came at the detriment of their entire team.

Ray from Phoenix, AZ

Your thoughts on Jacob Monk? He played/practiced mostly center, yet he did not play when Josh Myers got hurt. They moved Elgton Jenkins over instead. I for one am not in favor of moving an All-Pro-caliber player from his best position. I sure hope Monk does not become the next Caleb Jones.

Not every offensive lineman is gonna hit the NFL ground running the way Zach Tom did. Sean Rhyan played one special-team snap as a rookie in 2022 before progressing to a job share and then graduating into a starting role. I'm not rushing to any conclusions on Monk. He needs to take a step this offseason like Rhyan did.

Yotam from Atlit, Israel

Well, I saw the other day that there is already talk about tweaking the kickoff rules this offseason. Seems that after a conservative start, kickoff returns actually went up compared to last year. What is your take on possible changes? And how would you manage the onside kick issue? As it is now the chance to recover is very small.

Leave the kickoff alone, at least for another year. More information is needed to make a final determination in my mind. It's hard to see the bottom of the pond if you keep mudding up the water. As far as the onside, I could not be more against a fourth-and-long alternative. The league isn't ready for that yet.

Randy from Billings, MT

Seems like there have been many questions regarding how the Packers will do without Christian Watson for most of the season. Hopefully he will be back early in the second half of the season, but I would think he will not be full speed for quite a while, maybe the rest of the season. What are your thoughts?

Gutekunst had wise words and Spofford had a well-written story on the Packers’ receiver situation. First and foremost, it's good to hear Romeo Doubs should be OK after the concussion scares at the end of the year, but certainly it's going to take time for Watson to get back on the field at full power. It's a challenge on multiple fronts but also a tremendous opportunity for whichever wideouts Green Bay takes into camp this summer.

Thomas from Cedar Rapids, IA

Six months ago, I would have said CB was one of our strongest positions. We had a healthy (at that time) Jaire Alexander, a former first-rounder on a contract year in Eric Stokes, a seventh-round gem in Carrington Valentine, and Keisean Nixon who was showing he really is a good NFL corner. Not to mention Corey Ballentine, Kalen King, and Robert Rochell who all showed promise. Things change so quickly! Did you think last August that CB would be a top need going into the draft?

Not necessarily, but the NFL is constantly changing. Nick Collins injured his neck in 2011, and it sent the Packers on a three-year odyssey trying to replace him. I just want what's best for both the Packers and Alexander. Apart from football, Jaire is one of my all-time favorite people I've covered in Green Bay's locker room.

Steve from Plover, WI

The question about strength of schedule got me thinking. It seems to me we play a lot of the tougher teams (Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore) at home in 2025, while we catch weaker teams (Dallas, NY Giants, Cleveland) on the road, where we should win anyway. How important is home field advantage these days? Enough to help us get past some of those tougher teams that are contributing to that strength of schedule.

It's all relative and teams obviously rise and fall every year. At the end of the day, I'd much rather play a team like Philadelphia at Lambeau than the Linc. Meanwhile, the Packers haven't lost at AT&T Stadium since it was built…so that's always a welcomed road trip.

Matt from Madison, WI

How big of a difference do you think Rasheed Walker would get if he signed an extension now vs. got through 2025 healthy and played as well as 2024? I saw he will be getting a nice $2 million pay raise this year, but that's not much compared to an extension this year or FA next year. Definitely one of the more intriguing contracts to me this offseason.

It's a balance of injury risk and possible reward for players going to free agency. A 17-plus-game season is no joke. David Bakhtiari signed his third contract with the Packers two months before he tore his anterior cruciate ligament on New Year's Eve 2020. If the Packers were to work an extension with Walker and/or Zach Tom, they'd have the benefit of using that modest Year 4 salary to spread out the cap hit.

Doug from Odell, IL

Will the Packers be able to re-sign Malik Willis?

He's under contract for another season; the next one, in fact.

Gary from Sheboygan, WI

Insiders, I wish some team would film their draft room during the draft and release it to the public five years later. Added to that wish list in a similar vein would be a filming and release of a team's combine interviews five years later. What are the chances of either of those happening, and if not, why not?

No good could come from the dissemination of combine interviews. Filming the draft room would make for great theater, but that's also a sacred space for scouts. As cool as it'd be to pull back the curtain, personnel executives have better things to worry about during those three days than what's being put on the record. Maybe a team tries it someday, but I just think there's too much information that can easily get misinterpreted. Anyone remember the frenzy in 2013 when the Cowboys' draft board got shown?

Dave from Lakewood Ranch, FL

Whenever I read something that talks about how "talented" the Packers' roster is it makes me ask "how do we really know?" We think they may be talented, but with only a couple exceptions we haven't seen real production yet. It wasn't that long ago that experts were talking how talented Eric Stokes and Kevin King were. Not trying to be negative, but perceived talent is just that.

The Packers have made back-to-back playoff appearances with the NFL's youngest roster. Not trying to be a homer, but I think the talent level of Green Bay's roster is more than just perception, Dave.

Dave from Germantown, TN

I think 18 NBA teams hold another team's picks in the first round. Routinely, NBA teams trade draft picks that are five years from now. Do think we will see draft strategies for football and baseball like the NBA or is the NBA phenomena a function of smaller rosters?

Small rosters are part of it but also NBA teams' ability to trade picks well into the future. In the NFL, you can only trade picks three years out.

Margeaux from Tallahassee, FL

After Larry's 40 story at his pro day, I started wondering if you ever ran a timed 40? I never did, and at 73, I won't be trying anytime soon. Larry's timed 5.4 is nothing to sneeze at.

5.8 is the best I could muster.

Mark from Big Bear City, CA

Good morning, Weston. I hope you had a nice few days off with the family. I was reading an article on an offensive lineman who played his college football at Middlebury, a small D-III football team. His name is Thomas "Tank" Perry. What a great story. Not your typical guard at 6-foot-2, 311 pounds. They don't think he will get much attention, but man, his work ethics are crazy in the weight room and classroom, it's amazing. Sounds like a good fit for the Packers. I just hope he gets his chance great story.

Those are my favorite stories leading up to the NFL Draft, specifically with linemen. Alex Cappa (from Humboldt State) and Quinn Meinerz (from UW-Whitewater) had similar stories in recent years.

Ron from Mitchell, SD

The Dodgers estimated luxury tax this season is approximately $142 million. They are paying more in luxury tax than 15 other teams are paying for their entire rosters. That's another reason major league baseball is difficult to watch these days.

Baseball doesn't have a length problem. It has a money problem. There are haves and have-nots, and the fans of the have-nots aren't shelling out cash the way they once did.

Randy from Clarksville, TN

Have you ever been "awe-struck" when meeting a player or coach from a past generation? I remember meeting Ray Nitschke at a bowling alley in La Crosse when I was 8 years old. I know he wasn't the biggest of men, but he looked like a giant to me. Wearing his glasses made him look grandfatherly, yet when he smiled, his missing teeth reminded me of his "game face" that terrorized linemen for years. A brief conversation and a big hug made him my all-time favorite Packer.

I was in awe seeing Julius Peppers for the first time. He was built like no other NFL player I've seen. I've written this before, but meeting Dick LeBeau at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2017 was a big deal for me. Like Dom Capers, LeBeau is a true gentleman.

Brent from Waunakee, WI

I think Vic perfectly described his criteria for HOF enshrinement as can you write the history of the NFL without him? The history of the NFL cannot be written without Eli Manning and his accomplishments, so no-brainer HOFer to me. Championships trump stats for me. Thoughts?

I think it's a mixture of both regular-season achievements and postseason glory. Manning may one day join his brother in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he's not a first-ballot QB in my opinion. I think the voters felt the same way considering Manning didn't crack the final seven this year.

Robert from Brookeville, MD

With talk of jersey number retirement, I always wonder when the team might run short of numbers and why not make "retirement" 100 years instead? The Packers have retired six numbers in 75 years and expect a seventh in the next few years for AR. In another few decades do they just start adding letters during the preseason?

This is why the Packers have been so selective with which numbers they choose to retire (e.g. Paul Hornung's No. 5 and Curly Lambeau's No. 1). With the league now allowing skill-position players to wear single-digit numbers, there are several teams with only so many available options.

Dennis from De Pere, WI

If all 45 active players do their 1/11th on gameday, that's over 400%. No way you can lose.

Scott Steiner would say you have a 141 2/3% chance of winning. Have a great Wednesday.