Inbox: He's called it one of the top throws of his career

Keith from Dearborn, MI Spoff, thank you for always answering a wide variety of questions! Makes the daily read of the Insider Inbox a great one, and never a waste of time! Appreciate the kind words! I do my best! I’m going to stop with the exclamation points now, or it’s going to be a long morning! Dave from Pune, India Mike, how do you guys not go crazy? Last season the Inbox-ers were calling for Capers’ head on a platter, and now people are questioning Pettine before he even coaches a single game. People give the guy a chance first and enjoy the show. Amen. Everyone wants assurances in advance. What fun would that be?Josh from Oshkosh, WI In relation to a number being retired for multiple players, I would be curious to see if the Denver Broncos ever put Peyton Manning's name up by Frank Tripucka's No. 18. You would think so. He won a comeback player of the year, MVP and Super Bowl in Denver. Thomas from Dunkerton, IA On the subject of retiring numbers, I always thought a better honor would be to have someone wear the number. Honor 15, 4, or 12 by having the next QB wear one of those. Imagine the sight of 66 plugging the hole on third-and-1, or 92 sacking the QB. Baseball players would clamor to be the one to honor 42. Besides, sooner or later teams will run out of numbers anyway. They already are starting to blur the line of great and very good in the name of revenue or fan interest with retirement ceremonies. While I appreciate your point, blurring the line, or however you want to put it, is not an issue in Green Bay. Including Kramer, the Packers will have 24 players (plus Lombardi) in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and 18 of them will not have a retired number. Mark from Nashville, TN My youth flag football team once won a game 4-2. What's the strangest NFL score you can think of? Nothing immediately comes to mind, except I recall hearing in 2014 when the Packers beat the Patriots, 26-21, it was the first time in team history Green Bay won a game by that score. Then a handful of weeks later, they won another one by the same score against Dallas in the playoffs. Weird, huh? Jeremy from Lethbridge, Canada Spoff, would you say that Jeff “I call it like I alone see it” Triplette’s hiring at ESPN as a rules analyst is a great decision, or the greatest decision of all-time? It’ll be the greatest segment I’ll never watch. Luke from La Crosse, WI I'll always remember Matt Flynn's game in New England where a freak special teams blunder prevented him from engineering a major upset. That was the game I knew we truly had a special coach. "We are nobody's underdog." I’ll never forget the day McCarthy said that. Had Flynn pulled off the win, it would have trumped my other choices. Patrick from Ashland, WI Frank Reich anyone? Mike, you're old enough to remember that game. Of course, and Brett Favre vs. the Bengals, Nick Foles, blah blah blah. For all of you supposedly correcting me on this, the question was the best backup QB performance I had witnessed, and I started my answer by clarifying “in person.” Read, please. Carry on. Geert from Old Windsor, UK Player that is not on the roster now, but will be in Week 1. Frank Zombo. Just to add to the alumni returns. Book it. I can still hear Kevin Greene at practice every day. Zombo! Pat from Pulaski, WI Unique play? How about this one: 1978, the Packers finally starting to look decent under Bart Starr. Yes, the Herman Edwards runback for a TD after Joe Pisarcik of the NY Giants botched the handoff, with literally no time on the clock. The Eagles win, and having a 9-7 record and earn a wild-card playoff berth. Hmm, the Pack ends up 8-7-1 that year. Eagles should've been 8-8! No playoffs for the Pack because of that play. I never realized how close the Packers were to a wild-card spot that year. Even with the Eagles’ fluke win, Green Bay tied Minnesota for the division title at 8-7-1. The Vikings had won the first head-to-head meeting, and they tied the second one, 10-10, despite Green Bay’s defense getting five turnovers. Almost hard to believe. Bill from Menominee, MI Mike, you obviously have a passion for baseball. Do you still play a little bar/rec league softball or something to scratch the itch? Unfortunately, no. I played my share of bar league softball when I first broke into the sports writing business, before I got married and had kids. Then I coached my daughter’s youth softball teams for six years, so no complaints, really. Dan from Catonsville, MD Mike: I disagree with you in a friendly way on Ray Nitschke being off your list. About a year after Ray Nitschke died, I saw Paul Hornung speak about him to national commentator. Hornung said that Nitschke was the best athlete of all those great Packer teams full of HOF players. He said he could easily throw a football 90 yards. I watched him play in a lot of games, he was a true monster on defense. Maybe rethink your decision? Like I said, I’ll happily take Nitschke, Butkus or Lewis as my fourth. But I’m sticking with Bednarik, Taylor and Urlacher as my other three. Tony from Kaukauna, WI I love the “Dumb and Dumber” reference. Have you had a chance to see the Brewers re-enact the movie, or “The Sandlot” one? These Brewers are having fun and winning at the same time! Which Packers team would you think had the most fun? Not a question I can answer, but I did see the Brewers act out “The Sandlot.” That was priceless.Kelly from Koloa, HI Greatest play that never happened...Aaron Rodgers...Davante Adams...you already know. Most amazing throw I've ever seen. You weren’t the only one to bring it up. Linsley still talks about that as a bogus penalty, and Rodgers has chalked it one up as one of the top handful of throws in his entire career. Scott from De Pere, WI Mike, with Wes out of the office this week, are you eating lunch? Or did Wes make you a bunch of lunches for this week and leave them in the fridge for you? I’m scrambling, man. Maggie from Kenosha, WI I've always wondered how the stock sales happened since I was too young to participate in any of the previous sales. Do the Packers have a set number of shares that they sell on a first-come, first-served basis, or do they sell as many shares as possible in a certain period of time? For the last two stock sales, in 1997 and 2011, the Packers had a set number to sell. In 2011, they made more available after initial demand was so high and with access via online sales so convenient. But to fend off a common question, no more stock sales are imminent. The Packers can only sell stock for stadium improvements, and there are no plans requiring outside funds in the works. Brian from Monck’s Corner, SC In Mike's response regarding Kizer's development, he implied because of the team's investment in Kizer the team would likely keep three QBs only if Kizer doesn't outperform (or match) Hundley's performance. I personally agree with that assessment. But what would we surmise about Kizer if the team decides to in fact keep Hundley as well? That he needs more time. Kizer is learning a whole new language with his head and his feet.Andrew from Simi Valley, CA Is there any order to the “100 Moments”? At first I thought it would go chronologically, but seems like it’s just skipping around randomly. It is. We like to keep you on your toes. Ken from Racine, WI I confess, despite being a frequent reader of Insider, I haven't read every episode of it. Lately there's been a lot of discussion about the longest plays, which have all been focused on yards gained. What I haven't seen anyone ask, though, is what is the NFL record for lost yardage on a play from scrimmage? Is that even a statistic that is kept anywhere? I couldn’t find it, so if anyone can, let me know. Tom from Holmen, WI, mentioned Louisiana Tech losing 87 yards in one play in a college game, which happened recently. I did find an NFL reference to the most yards lost on a sack being 29, on a sack of Miami QB Bob Griese in Super Bowl VI, and that mark was tied by a sack of Tim Tebow in 2011. That’s all I came up with. Jim from Hainesville, IL Joe Washington, MNF, 1978. The Colts RB threw a TD pass, caught a TD & returned a kickoff for a TD...all in the fourth quarter. The 90-yard kick return came with just over a minute to play and broke a 27-27 tie. Always grateful mom let me stay up to watch that one! My bedtime was always halftime. Joe from East Moline, IL I vaguely remember my dad’s party for the ’96 Packers SB, and I’ve seen some of the big moments like the Freeman catch, the 2003 Raiders game, and “we want the ball” overtime. But I didn’t actually start watching until Favre’s last year in GB. So I have to take people’s word for the greatness of players like Butler, Sharpe, White, and Brown. I’m wondering who was considered better between Brooks and Freeman. Splitting hairs, really. Both Pro Bowl-level players. Injuries robbed Brooks of what would have been a better career, though that helped open the door for Freeman, who came a few years later. Braden from Aurora, CO Following Randall Cobb on Twitter, he seems like a man who concerns himself with larger issues than just football. I appreciate his willingness to express his opinions. Do you see any current players who may pursue a career in public office when done playing? I have no idea if he’s interested, but in the current locker room, he might be at the top of the list. I wouldn’t put it past Clinton-Dix or Montgomery, either. Matt from Waunakee, WI Chicks dig the long ball. I’d rather “announce my presence with authority.” Daniel from Daytona Beach, FL I was told in a trivia competition an NFL team will win by a score of 1-0 if a team doesn't show up for the match. The team that is present is awarded one point and the game is concluded. Is this true? I am not encouraging malfeasance. I'm just trying to win a drink. A popular question today. I believe a forfeit in the NFL is 2-0, but at other levels of football it’s 1-0. I don’t know why. Tom from Vista, CA I once chatted with Al Davis before a Chiefs home game. I pointed out the longest fumble return by Jack Tatum at the time was actually a muff, never should have been a record. Al smiled and said, “We got away with one there.” I asked him if that balanced out the “Immaculate Reception” play? He smiled again and pointed out five things the refs missed on the play and could have called. He shrugged the shoulders of his white jump suit and indicated it wasn't our day. What is your worst call ever? I love your story, but are you seriously asking me that? Bill from Iowa City, IA Not that I want bad karma for anyone, but who on defense would be the toughest for the Packers to lose for the season due to injury? I’m thinking about the quality of depth, I guess. Right now, I’d say Matthews or Perry. There’s potential behind them, but it’s unproven. Elizabeth from Sylvania, OH It seems Mike and Wes like to keep a practical and logical Insiders Inbox tone - which is good for certain types of fans. At this point, I gather there's really no way to predict what will happen this season (if there ever is a point for such predictions). Just for fun though, indulge me for a second. What happens if all the changes prove to be exactly what the Packers needed and not only is Aaron Rodgers able to go on his revenge tour, but our defense is so good they get their own nickname? What happens? The Inbox becomes the happiest place on earth. Fred from La Crosse, WI Technically speaking a 99-yard rushing touchdown would only occur assuming the player ran “straight down the field from the scrimmage line.” Why is this time of year called the dead zone? Reflections, ruminations, and Oxford commas are more gripping out of season than in. That being said, predict the first regular-season Packer touchdown. I say Rodgers to Graham in the red zone over the middle against Bears. That’s as good a call as any. For the rest of your ruminations, I’ll just say happy Friday, everyone. HAVE A QUESTION?

Inbox: He's called it one of the top throws of his career

Blurring the line is not an issue in Green Bay