Gretchen from Dousman, WI

The "Green Bay Smackers"! Love it! That's their nickname in my head from now on. Just the best stories. Thank you everyone.

Kudos to Wes for putting together another entertaining edition of OI, thanks to all who participated, and a heartfelt tip of the posthumous cap to Roger from McGrath for a well-deserved honor.

Roger('s widow) from McGrath, AK

I was moved to tears seeing July 13 "Roger for the win...forever" in the Inbox. If it wasn't for Rod from Chugiak pointing it out to me, I would not have seen this. Roger was a forever Packers fan. He read the Inbox every day right to the last few days. Roger was an intelligent, exceptional person. A very kind person towards others. I became a Packers fan because Roger was a loyal Green Bay Packers fan. I'm pretty sure he would be moved to tears seeing the Inbox. Go Pack Go.

We are forever Roger fans. Thanks for writing in.

MVD from Neenah, WI

Like Wes said yesterday, Roger from McGrath is the only choice for Inbox MVP this year. It's an honor to be mentioned in the same space and many thanks to Doug from Woodington and Wes for their kind words. But there's still work to be done here, especially when it involves trying to sneak a clever pun past Mike. Apparently he can hit the delete key faster than you can say Hawg Hanner. GPG!

After this little II respite, I'll need to work my way back up to full speed.

Tom from Keota, IA

Hi II. Just wanted to say that my fellow Packers fans have some pretty fantastic families. I'm going to save that memorabilia edition of Outsiders Inbox, to read every time I start to think that pro sports is all about gambling and greedy owners and streaming rights. Had to dry my eyes a few times. Hoping everyone has even more good times to remember heading forward.

That segment about cherished memorabilia was my favorite, too. Great stories all around.

Joe from Swansea, IL

Morning, II! Not for nothing, I tracked submissions to Outsiders Inbox this year: Correspondents from 29 states in the U.S. and four foreign countries – Canada, Germany, Nicaragua, and New Zealand. Wow! Packers fans never fail to amaze and delight.

Appreciate your efforts.

Jason from Friesland, WI

It's always fun reading us Outsiders' responses, though this year I was a bit disappointed as I assumed with Spoff not doing II for a week we would have had Kraft signing his new contract.

My vacation starts Friday afternoon, so stay tuned. But back to the traditional format of this column, with several submissions I saved from before and during the OI interlude. Here we go …

John from Green Bay, WI

How are we going to make sure that we don't have any slip-ups like we did against the Bears in the wild-card round?

Ha. Make sure? Um, tell the other team not to try so hard?

Craig from Appleton, WI

Many examples of iconic moments and plays were mentioned by other fans about Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre in OI. What would you say is the most impressive play thus far in Jordan Love's career?

I don't think there's just one for me. There's a handful from each year so far. In '23, I think about the seam route to Jayden Reed in the comeback vs. New Orleans, the fourth-down throw to Doubs vs. KC, the third-down sideline heave to Doubs in Carolina, and beating the blitz at Dallas in the playoffs. In '24, the rocket over the middle of the end zone to Tucker Kraft vs. Houston and finding Christian Watson at crunch time in Chicago come to mind. Last year, I remember most the clutch fourth downs at Arizona (Kraft) and Detroit (Wicks x2) and the game-winning TD to Watson in Jersey, plus several throws in Pittsburgh. I'd have to think too hard for the dead zone to narrow it down to one.

Douglas from Richardson, TX

Good morning. In 2024 Love was ranked 34 in the top 100 players. This year 72. Should we be alarmed by this dramatic decline since it's the players that vote? What if anything can we read into this?

The Packers were one-and-done in the playoffs the last two years. That's what I read into it. By just about every statistical measure, Love's a better QB now than when he was ranked No. 34.

Justin from Waupun, WI

What do you think is the weakest link is going into the season?

Health questions and cornerback depth.

Ken from Nellysford, VA

Can you help me find the exact statement Vic used to make? It's something like: Take care of (or plan for?) the future and the future will take care of the present. It was a wonderful Vic'ism that has practical use in many situations, and I used it once with the health ministry in Rwanda when I consulted there. When I asked Vic if he had penned it his response was: "It's mine and you can have it." However, I lost it when I retired as the email exchange with Vic was on my work computer. Thanks.

He used to say, "Take care of the future and the future will take care of the present." He also used to say, "Take care of the cap and the cap will take care of you."

Herbert from Palm Desert, CA

Daniel Whelan was just named the best athlete in his high school's history by his local newspaper. So he's got that going for him. As a PA announcer at a rival high school, I had the pleasure of announcing his successful 51-yard field goal. He was more than just a punter.

That's pretty cool.

Daniel from Lakeland, FL

I have heard announcers and others state turnovers (or lack thereof) are the most reliable statistic to predict winning or losing. Is that in fact true?

Depending on the statistical angle, yes. I've seen numbers that indicate the team that wins the turnover battle wins about 70% of NFL games. If the turnover margin is plus-two, it jumps into the 80s, and if it's plus-three, it's in the 90s. I can't imagine there's a stronger correlation with any other stat (aside from points, of course) like yards, first downs, time of possession, penalties, etc., than that.

Rebecca from Madison, WI

Good day, Mike and Wes. With all the talk about time in between plays, personnel packages and knowing the playbook inside and out, I guess I don't ever want to hear people calling football players a bunch of dumb jocks. The amount each and every one has to process quickly in a 60-minute game makes my head spin. Dumb jocks don't play at the NFL level. BTW, coming to training camp and hoping to say hi to you guys, one of these years.

The amount of information to process, and how quickly, at this level is one factor in players who can't successfully make the jump from the college game, or for those who take a while to get there.

John from Palmdale, CA

Re: Robb from Orlando's post about who did we miss the most (Micah Parsons or Kraft). I would submit a third player to his list, Zach Tom.

I would submit the Packers compensated for Tom's loss the best of the three, until the playoff game.

Bryan from Madison, WI

"Explosive plays limit what can go wrong." I had never thought of it like that. Letting it fly as a risk mitigation tool seems counter-intuitive on the surface, but makes sense when viewed through the lens you provided. Thanks for helping me further appreciate and understand the nuances of the game.

Just doing my best to explore all perspectives.

John from Colonial Beach, VA

In recent years, I've challenged to pick a sort of Cinderella team from each conference before the start of the season. Last year I picked the Patriots (though I didn't expect them to go to the Super Bowl) and the Panthers (though I didn't expect them to necessarily make the playoffs). This year I'm struggling to pick teams. Which under-the-radar teams do you believe could have a better season than most people are thinking?

As far as teams that finished more than a game below .500 last year who are likely to contend for the playoffs again, the easy picks in the AFC are the Chiefs and Bengals. In the NFC, probably Washington. A real sleeper? Maybe New Orleans in a weak division.

Jim from Mundelein, IL

Is Darian Kinnard a swing tackle or just an RT? It seems like OT depth will be critical in 2026. Any insight here is appreciated.

Kinnard is a swing tackle and could play LT in a pinch, though he's got more experience at RT. I would think he and Anthony Belton would be the top options for No. 2 LT, with Travis Glover possibly working his way into that mix with a strong training camp.

Joshua from Gilbert, SC

We have seen many great running backs that played for the Packers. Excluding free agency pickups, who are your top five running backs of all time drafted by the Packers?

Well, Jim Taylor, Paul Hornung and Tony Canadeo are all in Canton as Packers draft picks, so there's your first three. To round out the top five, I'd probably pick Aaron Jones and John Brockington, with apologies to Dorsey Levens, Edgar Bennett, Eddie Lacy and the biggest what-if in the group, Eddie Lee Ivery.

Matthew from Racine, WI

Do you think Xavier McKinney will have a bounce-back season similar to what he had in 2024?

I don't think McKinney needs to "bounce back" from being named second-team All-Pro. His INTs fell, because teams quit challenging him deep, and because he had a couple slip away. But he's still very much at the top of his game.

John from St. Paul, MN

Who do you think the Packers will regret the most for letting go this offseason?

Based on the price tags of those who departed, I don't see any regrets. Maybe Emanuel Wilson because of the uncertainty at running back, but at the time, paying $2M for him didn't really fit, and he was looking for a better opportunity anyway.

Ross from Summerville, SC

Gents, what position battles will be the most intriguing in camp?

Cornerback and edge rusher.

Mike from Baraboo, WI

Will you guys be attending the Badgers vs. Irish game at Lambeau?

Not me. I did attend the Wisconsin-LSU game at Lambeau 10 years ago and had a blast, but the friends who joined me for that one couldn't make it this year.

Dan from Grayslake, WI

Disappointing weekend for the Brewers in Pittsburgh, especially those expecting to see Miz battle Skenes. How concerned should we be about Miz's tired arm? I figured he'd have issues at some point with how hard he throws, but hoping for Nolan Ryan longevity.

Apologies for the baseball interruption, but I'm going to answer this. He'd been pitching most of the year on five and sometimes six days' rest. He came back on four for the first game of the DH in St. Louis and went seven innings. Not surprised he wasn't up to another start on four days' rest before the break. The most innings he's thrown as a professional (minors and majors) in one season is 129, last year. He's at 111 already this season. Playing the high side of caution here makes a ton of sense.

Randy from Klamath Falls, OR

When will we see the new alternate jersey?

When the league tells us to announce it, I guess. Happy Tuesday.

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