Jim from Champlin, MN
Can the armchair coaches who are screaming for Abbrederis and Janis and who have not seen one rep of practice please understand this is a very talented coaching staff, and they don't need your help? They are even more committed to this team winning than you are, and if they didn't see talent in these players, you wouldn't even know their names. If they saw the talent you think you see in them, these players would be out there making the difference.
Jared Abbrederis and Jeff Janis are fan favorites and the fans want those players' roles to be expanded because that would entertain and please the fans. The coaches aren't about entertainment, they're about winning. When they believe it's time for those two young receivers' roles to be expanded, it'll happen. If it happens before they're ready, the team suffers and so does each player. I would ask fans to be patient and to express belief in one of the best coaching staffs I've ever covered.
Stefan from Karlsruhe, Germany
Vic, is there a financial benefit to reach the playoffs other than the ticket revenue when you have a home game?
Postseason ticket revenue belongs to the league. Parking and concessions belong to the teams that host postseason games.
Josh from Morganton, NC
Here is something I find very interesting: The top four NFL career passing leaders (Manning, Favre, Marino, Brees) have accumulated 265,650 passing yards together, but they have a total of three Super Bowl rings between them. What is your take on that?
You throw to score, you run to win.
Todd from Alsip, IL
I know you don't pay Aaron Rodgers for his legs, but it seems he hasn't been scrambling this season as he has in the past. Couldn't a few big runs catch the defense off guard while their defensive backs are in man battling the receivers? Rodgers can surely escape one linebacker potentially spying him. Seems it could disrupt an aggressive defense.
If the defense is playing man-to-man, which nearly all Packers opponents are these days, they're not going to leave their coverage to chase Rodgers. The linebackers aren't taking deep drops against the Packers, so unless they've blitzed or the Packers are in five-wide formation, Rodgers is scrambling against a loaded box. Success in the passing game for the Packers begins with beating man coverage. Coach McCarthy said it on Sunday. My inbox is full of fans trying to find ways to win without winning the one-on-ones. It's not a lasting formula for victory.
Alex from Stockton, CA
What can the Packers start to do to stretch the field vertically? They are basically playing red zone offense the entire game.
Again, beat your man. Opponents are not dropping their linebackers beyond checkdown depth; they don't have to do that because the defensive backs are holding their coverages. When the Packers beat man-to-man coverage, the linebackers will have to drop deeper, and then the field will have been stretched vertically and the Packers can throw underneath the coverage, which is where Randall Cobb is most effective.
Mike from Milwaukee, WI
Vic, I feel too many fans want to bear witness to broad changes, but would they be willing to admit they might not know what changes should or should not be made? Why are the easy answers in front of us (beat man coverage, catch the ball, make the tackles) so tough to accept?
It's because they're not working. Madden and the TV analysts have conditioned us to believe you can win with plans and schemes. It's not true. All teams have good plans and schemes. The teams with the best players are the teams that win the most games.
