Inbox: Every play call has its weaknesses

Rick from Evergreen, CO

Mornin' Spoff. Wow! Ed with a Seinfeld reference. Color me impressed. I think he may read II.

I sincerely hope he has better things to do.

Larry from Washington, DC

I love II and all the work the media team does, but I have a visceral dislike for the new media screen during the pressers that flickers every 10 seconds. Can another solution be found that isn't so disruptive and visually painful? Thanks for passing this along, if you can.

Sorry, out of my jurisdiction.

John from Sussex, WI

This time of year is so interesting because we meet the new additions to the team. Be it players or coaches it is always fascinating. Their backgrounds and history. Monday the coaches, Gannon was amazing, so cerebral but a football guy, and Achord's story is so intriguing how can you not pull for him and his squads? I know I didn't mention players but is this new influx of humanity what keeps it fresh and tolerable for the Insider Inbox team?

That's not quite how I'd describe it, but it's true the only constant in this business is change. I had to get used to it long ago. As far as the humanity part, players and coaches, I enjoy meeting new people, but it's always hard to see others go. I've learned to enjoy relationships in the moment but keep a healthy detachment, both for work and personal reasons. Not saying it's right or wrong, just what works for me.

Jim from Dover, NH

After reading Mike's article on the new DC and hearing what Gannon had to say, I couldn't help but remember words of wisdom from the past. "It's players, not plays!"

Exactly, and Gannon knows he's got players to work with in Parsons, Wyatt, Cooper, McKinney, et al. I talked about this at length on "Unscripted," how there's always an evolution with a defense when a new coordinator comes in, but with Gannon's "build on the fly" approach and major players returning from injury, the evolution in 2026 will remain ongoing.

James from Appleton, WI

It sounds like the new defense will be installed like some kind of method acting class. But, you know what? I don't care how, as long as the team gets back to improving as the season goes along. Let's own December again.

Everyone will want to make judgments about the new defense in September, but the only judgment that will really matter comes 3-4 months later.

Josh from Seattle, WA

I liked JG's opening press conference! We all want to ask him his strategy and scheme, but only a fool tells the media their plans on how they plan to play. His philosophy to me though sounds like a great authentic example of players, not plays. With a coach who understands he has to call plays that puts his players in the best position to make the play. He said something like, "Play to their strengths not their stresses."

But in the same breath he acknowledged every play call has its weaknesses, or stressors. If the offense dials up the right play against a certain call, the defense is at a disadvantage, playing uphill. Hearing that reminded me why there's such an extensive chess match at the line of scrimmage at this level. The longer and better the defense can disguise what it's actually doing, the better chance it has. If the QB deciphers the defense pre-snap, he can check to a stressor and gain a decided edge.

Shana from Corunna, IN

Good morning II and Insider homies! What made Tyrod Taylor a more attractive choice over Desmond Ridder? Thanks for all you do, GPG!

Experience, track record and ball security. He's won 29 of 62 career starts and thrown just 34 interceptions. He's a guy who's seen it all and knows how to protect the ball. That always gives you a chance in a pinch.

Connor from Minnetrista, MN

How confident are we that Tyrod Taylor will be the No. 2 come Week 1?

Barring injury, very. The other two guys have never played in an NFL game.

Jay from Lutz, FL

I would like to see the Packers get a proven guy at RB2 in free agency. To me that is the highest current need, post Tyrod Taylor.

I disagree. I want to see what MarShawn Lloyd can do. I understand the risk, and if the need arises, by all means fill it. But I'm willing to let this play out.

Nik from Moore, SC

Now that we signed a vet QB as a backup, are there any more positions you think Gute would dip into FA and sign another established vet? My guess would be DE.

I'm not ruling anything out, but I think at this point the price would have to be right at any other position unless an injury situation arises, and the prices will be better in the early stages of training camp than now.

Jeffery from Monticello, WI

Hi guys, I'm watching Dallas play DC on the UFL and there's some really good players on these teams. Does Gutekunst shop for players in the UFL?

The personnel department has its eyes on everything and everyone. It found Daniel Whelan in the XFL.

Craig from Johnson City, TN

How will the competition between three kickers affect Daniel Whelan? More reps, ball positioning preferences? Just curious. Who is the backup holder?

I learned last year who the backup holder was and have already forgotten. But Whelan has held for multiple kickers concurrently before (Carlson & Joseph, Brandon McManus & Lucas Havrisik) so I doubt adding a third to the mix is a major hardship.

Robert from Greenville, TX

Something just crossed my mind. Seems that I hear this scout is assigned to this region or area of the country. Has anyone ever just been assigned a position to scout? Having been a high school coach for 26 years it seems that you would get better scouting data, just like having position specific coaching assignments.

That's not really practical in terms of scouting players in person during their college seasons. But maybe some of the personnel execs who serve as cross-checkers for the area scouts have a level of expertise at specific positions, I'm not sure.

Joe from Bozeman, MT

I'm surprised that the Packers have exercised LVN's fifth-year option given that they did not do the same for Quay Walker, who was a much more productive player than Lukas Van Ness. LVN has not lived up to his 13th overall selection pedigree and this seems like just a delay of the inevitable conclusion that this was another poor first-round pick by the current GM.

He had 1½ sacks in the first five games last season, then missed eight games due to injury. Came back from the long layoff and got the defense's only sack in the playoff game. As Gutey said at the combine when he was asked about the option, the decision is based on what they believe a player will do in the future, not what he's done to date. So there's projection involved, but there's another caveat in this case. Comparing LVN to Walker, the price tag on the fifth-year option relative to the market at the player's position is also a factor. Walker's playing time over his first three seasons put him in a different price tier than LVN, and it's a price for an inside linebacker the Packers weren't interested in. It was pretty much the same salary he got from Vegas as a UFA this spring. LVN's fifth-year option price relative to the market for an edge rusher was more palatable.

Sean from Boulder, CO

It seems Jeff was suggesting the Packers failed in not having adequate replacements for the injured many. First, while injuries happen, rarely do they all happen to such impactful players. Devonte Wyatt, Micah Parsons, Zach Tom, and Tucker Kraft are not just players – they are anchors. Secondly, injuries do happen but the winners aren't necessarily better at replacement. The four teams with the fewest impactful injuries by EPA were Seattle, New England, LA Rams and Denver. Not so coincidental they were the last standing.

Not at all. It's less about how many injuries a team has than who's injured and when. Those were four of the top 10 or 12 players on the entire roster and simply too much to replace that late in the season. Everyone always references the lengthy 2010 injured reserve list and how that team overcame. No denying that. I'd submit the top four players who landed on IR that year were Finley, Grant, Barnett and Tauscher. That's quite the quartet as well. But only one of them was lost after Week 7 (Tauscher, Week 10), and that team struggled to replace everyone (8-6 through 14 games) before finding itself and hitting stride. Last year, Kraft was the earliest of those big four injuries (Week 9) and the Packers were 9-3-1 before losing Parsons and Tom for the stretch run. The injuries hit hard, fast and late. That made it tougher on all involved.

Gary from Tompkinsville, KY

I'm thinking of attending a road game this year. Which venue is better, Tampa Bay or NOLA?

Depends on your noise tolerance.

Ray from Phoenix, AZ

A comment about the allure of Lambeau Field to all sports fans. Torey Lovullo, manager of the Diamondbacks, rented a car in Milwaukee and drove to GB during the D'backs-Brewers recent series. He said it was a bucket list item checked off. He stated Lambeau Field is like the Yankee Stadium of pro football. He took the tour and visited the Packer HOF. I thought was pretty cool!

That is cool. I wish I'd known he was coming. I'd have given him the tour myself and asked him why his team had to get so hot in October 2023.

Tom from Wauwatosa, WI

Can we get "whisper mode" for the Inbox? That way when you have inside information you can use whisper mode and we'll know to keep it on the down low.

This crowd's always got something. Happy Wednesday.

HAVE A QUESTION?