Kurtis from Macungie, PA

"The reality is there are still 272 games each regular season. Half will be won and half will be lost." Actually all will be won and all will be lost.

And once again, the Inbox justifies its own no math rule.

Rick from San Diego, CA

So you are saying we can't get a second-round pick by trading a bunch of much lower picks with lesser value? There was a certain assistant to the traveling secretary that might disagree with you. He had a way to acquire Bonds and Griffey without giving up that much.

Did it involve Jay Buhner or Ken Phelps?

Ray from Phoenix, AZ

Say the highest rated player on the Packers' board when they pick in the second round is a receiver. Do you see them trading down to get more picks, or is this the year they go to a position of need and take the highest-rated corner, D-tackle or O-lineman on their board?

Unless there's a clear best available player at a position of need when the Packers are on the clock, I think the odds are good they'll look to trade down to acquire more picks. But that also doesn't mean it's guaranteed to happen. It always takes two to tango.

Brian from Manitowoc, WI

Greetings II. Longtime first time. If the Packers organization doesn't divulge the head coach or GM contract details, specifically the number of years, then is this a new practice? How did we all come to know the duration and expiration of both Gutekunst and LaFleur's previous contracts and their expirations? Thanks for all the great writing.

It's not new, and reporters have found out on their own in the past. In this last go-round, it was eventually reported the previous extensions Mark Murphy signed with Gutey and LaFleur were intentionally structured to expire two years into the tenure of Murphy's successor. But that wasn't known right away.

Brian from Charlottesville, VA

Would Matt LaFleur ever consider inviting Mike LaFleur and the Cardinals to be training camp partners?

Wouldn't rule it out.

Barb from Marengo, IL

Well, it looks like every team next season will be playing at least one overseas game. Where would you like to travel to?

I think half the league is probably more accurate, and I don't spend much time thinking about it unless and until I know where we're going.

Barry from De Pere, WI

Saw the Saints would play at the Stade de France this year. If the Packers are chosen as the opponent, we can rest easy knowing the field is Desso GrassMaster, same as Lambeau. Better than that horror in Sao Paulo against the Eagles.

I suspect the NFL has been, and will continue, looking more closely at all surfaces in new international venues after the inaugural Brazil affair.

Bill from Menominee, MI

It was speculated that when former defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington was hired by the Packers as a position coach, that he would be a potential candidate for GB's DC role should Hafley move on for a head coaching job. Are you aware if Covington was considered for the position prior to their eventual hiring of Gannon?

Not sure. It was reported Covington got multiple interviews with other clubs for their open DC positions, but whether or not LaFleur interviewed him before hiring Gannon, I don't know.

Kevin from Arlington Heights, IL

Would you say it's easier for a defense to pick up on a completely new scheme than for an offense to learn an entirely new playbook?

Probably, just because an offense has a greater spectrum of variables – formations, motions, cadences – that a defense reacts to more than learns its own versions.

Shawn from Colby, WI

Mornin' Spoff. Michael from Jacksonville asked yesterday about why the runner on an outside run doesn't just throw the ball downfield or out of bounds if he isn't going to get back to the line to gain. I wondered that for a while myself but then realized on a running play, someone on the OL is likely downfield blocking, thus, it would be a penalty for "illegal man downfield." Do I have that right?

Pretty much.

Don from Thompson, ND

When the NFL turns preseason games into regular-season games I see an unintended consequence occurring. Previously the preseason was the opportunity for young or undrafted players to show they deserve a roster spot, but now that the games count their chance to shine is lessoned. Teams may decide to stay with an aging, diminishing-skills player rather than risking a roster spot on an intriguing but now unproven player. In this new world would a player like Sam Shields possibly not get discovered?

Not necessarily. Joint practices have taken the place of preseason games and those opportunities are still there for young players. It's not the same as a preseason game, but it's close.

Ian from Kirkwhelpington, UK

Mike, I have read in various places that the Packers will almost certainly not tender Emanuel Wilson but seek to sign him to a cheaper one-year contract instead. Given his play over the last two years, is he not worth a two- or three-year deal, or will Wilson spend his career on one-year deals?

Well, first off, an RFA tender is a one-year deal anyway, and a multi-year deal doesn't necessarily mean anything if there's no guaranteed money beyond the signing bonus or first year. But bigger picture, it isn't necessarily in the best interests of a player like Wilson to sign for multiple years anyway. Any backup waiting for an opportunity to be a featured guy – whether that comes via injury or another avenue – needs to be able to cash in as soon as he proves himself, and playing on one-year deals is the only way to keep those options open.

Michael from Mesa, AZ

What's the one position group that has to take a clear step forward for the Packers to make a legitimate playoff run next season and why?

I don't think it's one. If it were just one, the Packers would've been better than the No. 7 seed and wouldn't have gotten bounced in the first round. It's the O-line's consistency, the interior D-line's impact, the edge rushers aside from Micah Parsons, and the cornerbacks making more plays. That sounds like a lot, but it's not too much for one offseason.

Matt from Fitchburg, WI

I'm not trying to be a negative nelly, but I just don't see how the O-line is going to shape up. We have two quality starters heading to free agency (Rasheed Walker and Sean Rhyan), and our cap space is currently in the negative. That second point opens up the possibility we have to move on from Elgton Jenkins as well. Aaron Banks is getting paid a ton and way underperformed. I know Russ Ball and Gutekunst are considered wizards, but they can't create something out of nothing. Am I missing something?

The Packers have several moves they can make to create cap space. But to play out one possible, speculative scenario – there's a first-round pick in Jordan Morgan waiting in the wings to play left tackle should they decide to move on from Walker, Banks seemed to play fine as long as he was healthy, Rhyan could be a relatively inexpensive re-signing to play center, Anthony Belton appeared to find a home late in the year at right guard, and Zach Tom needs to get healthy at right tackle. There are other ways this could go, too. As I said the other day, I'm confident they can put together a solid starting five. The questions arise related to the depth after that.

Jason from Boyle, MS

How much is it going to cost for another team to grab Malik Willis?

Salary cap sites estimate Willis will land a contract in the $10M per year range, which this year, depending on playing time, was worth either a fifth- or sixth-round compensatory pick.

Jay from Benton, AR

Just wondering if the NFL has ever had a Super Bowl featuring two teams that are farther apart than the Patriots and the Seahawks?

Not quite. According to sportmapworld.com, the air distance between the Patriots and Seahawks (I think the site goes by stadium location) is 2,487 miles. Back in Super Bowl XIX, the distance between the Dolphins and 49ers was 2,723 miles.

Tom from Yardley, PA

Looking at the starting quarterbacks throughout Super Bowl history the vast majority have included at least one bona fide star. This matchup clearly bucks that trend. Who do you pick to shine?

Bucks that trend? Maye and Darnold may not be household names just yet, but they are stars in this league. Maye is likely to finish second in the MVP voting, and Darnold has thrown 60 TD passes over the last two seasons.

Jeremiah from Middleton, WI

Given that Jordan Love was sitting approximately third in MVP odds around the time that Pro Bowl votes are finalized, I was surprised that he was left out of the top three NFC QBs. I'm even more surprised that after people have dropped out and gotten replaced for the Pro Bowl, he apparently didn't make top five either. What are your thoughts?

It's disappointing, but it's not as though the NFC's original three selections (Stafford, Darnold, Prescott) and first two alternates (Goff, Hurts) were slouches. Doesn't seem worth anybody's outrage. Needing to replace Maye and Josh Allen, the AFC had to dig pretty deep into its alternates, tapping Joe Flacco and Shedeur Sanders, and apparently asking Justin Fields as well, with Joe Burrow and Bo Nix unavailable.

Jim from Eau Claire, WI

Do you guys see any of the Packers' current free agents that they might use the franchise tag on?

I don't.

John from Canada

I know the playoff mantra is "just get in" but the regular-season records mattered this year. All division weekend teams had a regular-season record of at least 12-5, except for the Bears (11-6) because they beat the Packers (9-7-1). All championship weekend teams had a regular-season record of 14-3, except for the Rams (12-5) because they defeated the Bears. Both Super Bowl teams had 14-3 regular-season records. There were similar patterns in 2024 and 2023. Is "just get in" realistic or wishful?

Five of the six NFC playoff games were decided by three or four points (one in OT). Three of the six in the AFC were decided by three points (one in OT). That's eight out of 12 games, two in OT, that easily could've gone the other way based on one or two plays at crunch time.

Jeff from New Lisbon, WI

In your response to Ron from Eleva WI you state you believe the game would have been played even at minus-40 degree wind chills. At what point do you believe player safety comes into play? I understand these are tough young men but they are human and that kind of cold can be dangerous to minor extremities. I wonder how a franchise and players' union would handle a QB or receiver with severe frostbite to fingers? Where is the line with cold? Has a game ever been rescheduled due to this?

Not that I know of. In this player safety era, I'd be curious what consideration would be given if another Ice Bowl-like minus-46 wind chill were due for a game. The only game I could find in the last decade or so with a wind chill worse than minus-20 was Seattle at Minnesota in the 2015 wild-card round (minus-25), played at U of M's TCF Bank Stadium while the Vikings' new home was being built. Would the league delay the game for a day if that, or something worse, came up again? Considering we now have playoff games on Mondays, maybe. The coldest wind chill in league history was the 1981 AFC title game, San Diego at Cincinnati, at minus-59 (but the minus-9 temp didn't beat the Ice Bowl's minus-13). As an Air Coryell fan in my youth, I always wondered if the Chargers had played that game anywhere else or on any other day if Dan Fouts would've gotten to a Super Bowl. But I digress.

Mark from Appleton, WI

It's said that football is a young man's game. As a season-ticket holder in my 70s, I've concluded attending live football games in December and January at Lambeau is also a young man's (person's) game. Do you see any potential for future upgrades at Lambeau (other than a dome) such as heated seats, warm air blowers, or whatever to make the viewing experience more accommodating?

Sorry, I think it's indoor club seats or bust, man. Happy Wednesday.

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