Jason from Austin, TX
Vic, I'll take a hard-fought victory over a clean loss any day of the week. Especially when you consider it was against a division rival on the road. That's a good win. Our defense had a fantastic game. If you remove that offside penalty on the field goal, the Bears would have only had 19 points.
It was something less than fantastic, but more than acceptable. In today's game, if you've held the opposing quarterback to a 67.5 passer rating, you've accomplished something. That game was a potential schedule-maker's ambush, and the Packers got out of Dodge with a win. That's good enough for me.
John from Ironwood, MI
Could the Packers have run out the clock when they were at Chicago's 2-yard line, and won 24-16 and not had to rely on covering the onside kick?
No. There was 1:59 remaining after the 2-minute warning, and the Bears had one timeout left. Risking a blocked field goal attempt would not have been the right decision, in my opinion, and the don't-score idea didn't work very well for the Giants. I'm not a fan of trying to find cute ways to win.
Jake from Bloomington, IN
In previous years, you would see at least eight different receivers catch a ball from Rodgers. Last game, we only had five. Why don't we ever throw Montgomery or Janis in to change things up? Is it because Cobb, Adams and Jones are elite players? I feel like the change of receivers can be so beneficial and a huge change in preparation and pace.
Ever? They've only played one game. The preseason and the time for auditions is over. The goal now is to win. Whatever it takes.
Brooks from Oklahoma City, OK
Vic, are Steelers fans and Jaguars fans as good at finding something to worry about as Packers fans are?
No, Packers fans are the best at everything, including finding issues about which to worry. Steelers fans rationalize everything in one of two ways: We kicked their butt, or they kicked our butt. Jaguars fans have been conditioned by years of abject losing to accept defeat without worry; they know it's going to happen, so why worry about it? Packers fans are the opposite. They're so accustomed to winning they try to feign concern for losing as a means for preparing themselves for the unthinkable, a loss.
Benjamin from Bear, DE
I'm guessing teams feed the press on Sundays. How's the food at Lambeau compared to spreads offered at other stadiums?
Lambeau Field's press box is in the top five. Soldier Field might lead the league in friendliness. Everywhere you go, an attendant says hello and wants to talk. An elevator door opens and a Marimba band begins to play. I actually like the spaceship look, and I've learned to deal with the mail-slot view the press box offers. I would offer only one bit of advice: Put out a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread; it would be an improvement.
Greg from Marion, IN
Ndamukong Suh may be a good player, but there is no room in this league for a player who insists on bullying and taking cheap shots at others. Being a great player means you should great on every down, regardless of the outcome. Your thoughts?
I'm a forgiving man.
Dave from Paddington, Australia
Vic, I'm confused. The Packers defeated the Bears, a division rival, and the Packers are the only NFC North team to record a victory, which means they are away to a fast start and they brushed off some rust, as September football often shows. How in the world is this a bad thing? After opening-day losses for several years, what is everyone's problem?
They didn't stop the run, the tackling was sloppy, there were too many penalties and there's concern about possibly lacking a deep threat. We must have FULL CONSISTENCY!
Michael from Frankfort, KY
The changes in the Packers coaching seemed to display some much-needed improvement against the Bears. Vic, do you believe based on what we've seen and heard so far this trend will continue throughout the season?
Based on one game? Actually, I thought the Packers were pretty good last year. I thought they were the best team in the league. I'm not looking for a whole lot of improvement. I'll gladly accept what they did last season, if they'll promise to play a little better in the final 3:52. Folks, I think our expectations have become unrealistic. Take a look around. Do you see perfection anywhere? The Super Bowl-champion Patriots gave up a lot of rushing yards to the Steelers. The NFC-champion Seahawks are 0-1 and are dealing with a holdout by one of their best players. What team doesn't have a weakness? What fan base is without concern? I think we need to stop worrying about what's bad and start feeling good about winning.
Adam from Wausau, WI
Would you be open to adding a fourth-quarter stat for quarterbacks?
There is a fourth-quarter stat for quarterbacks, and Aaron Rodgers is No. 5 in the league with a 126.0 fourth-quarter passer rating. Jay Cutler is No. 14 with a 77.1. That was the difference in Sunday's game.
Travis from Chicago, IL
Vic, it seemed like the past few years Rodgers has been very conservative when it came to holding onto the ball and taking the sack. In this past game, it appeared as though he was a bit more risky about letting the ball go, one resulting in the spectacular one-handed catch from Lacy. Am I wrong in saying that?
First of all, if you put on a pair of gloves the players wear, you'd understand how not-so-fantastic one-handed catches are. Those gloves are so sticky they make that stuff Lester Hayes used look like hand lotion. Secondly, Rodgers expressed an element of regret in his postgame interview for having made that throw. He got away with it. It's not something you want to make a habit of doing. I don't know what it is about one-handed catches and hurdling tacklers that excite people so, but they almost always create an explosion of emotion, even in the press box. When Lacy made that catch on Sunday, the press box exploded. I thought it might've been a delayed reaction to the pregame meal.
Jon from Alexandria, VA
Is this game with Seattle as big as any September game can possibly be? With a win, the Packers take a two-game lead over Seattle with 14 left and own the head-to-head tiebreaker. It would be a huge loss for Seattle's chances to host the Packers, should the teams meet again in January. I know it's early, but is this as close to a playoff atmosphere as a game can get?
All offseason, my inbox was full of questions such as yours. My readers wanted me to proclaim this the most important game in the history of the world. OK, now that it's here, I am proclaiming this to be the most important game in the history of the world. Go ahead, go nuts. But don't you dare sell your ticket to Seahawks fans. If I look out over Lambeau Field on Sunday and see Seahawks jerseys sitting in the stands, I'm gonna go nuts.
Kurt from Sheboygan, WI
Outside of Jeff Janis, I don't see a legit deep-ball threat. Green Bay is loaded with short to mid-range guys and I worry this may limit their play-calling.
I wouldn't worry about that, yet.
Harris from Troy, OH
Trying to find your RSS feed for Packers articles to put on my fan page site for articles that could bring people back to this site. Help me, please. Do you have an RSS for Packers articles?
Spofford says we do.
Gregg from Springfield, IL
Vic, I've been reading the defense played in nickel and dime more often than base. If you're primary goal is to stop the run, why wouldn't you play base more often to have three big linemen up front instead of two?
Because in today's game, stopping the pass is more important than stopping the run. That's just the way it is. The old saying is you throw to score but you run to win. I don't believe that's true anymore. I would amend that old saying to read: You throw to win and you run to throw. Those words sadden me.
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