Kurt from Sartell, MN

I just watched a couple of the national sports talk shows and none of them have the Packers listed in their top five ratings. That has to drive ML and BG crazy!

I can assure you they care not a whit.

Shawn from Colby, WI

Mornin' Spoff. I have spent the past couple of days trying to figure out why I feel like this team isn't all that good, while still sporting the second-best win percentage in the league and the top seed in the NFC if the playoffs started today (ridiculous, I know). Then it dawned on me...maybe nobody is all that good yet. What's your take?

I think the NFC is very strong, and 4-1-1 followed by six 5-2's and a 4-2 indicates that. What we don't know right now is who will be "all that good" come December and January. The Niners have lost Bosa and Warner. The Bucs had been winning repeatedly in the final moments and just lost Evans. The Rams are 5-0 vs. the AFC, 0-2 vs. the NFC and have only NFC games left now. The Packers beat one of the best teams in the league and lost to one of the worst. Lots of seasons could go different directions. There's no way to know. That's why we watch.

Ian from Valley Village, CA

Don't look now but despite the concerns many feel about this team, they currently are the top-ranked team in the NFC through seven weeks. Not a bad place to be when our best football is still out there.

No reason not to take it, but here's another reality: With three of the 5-2 teams on a bye (Lions, Rams, Seahawks) and the other two-loss teams all heavily favored (Bears, Eagles, Niners, Buccaneers), the Packers could easily fall from the top spot in the conference to No. 8 if they don't win this week. Just beat the Steelers.

Joel from Green Lake, WI

Just a little history lesson, 56 years ago on Nov. 2, the Packers played the Steelers in Pittsburgh and won, 38-34. We were married after that game. Our pastor said to not expect a long sermon, he was going to watch the game. This year's schedule came very close to duplicating, missing by one week, hope the result is the same as it was in 1969!

Congrats on your upcoming 56th anniversary. One year after that win in '69, the Packers won again in Pittsburgh and haven't won there since, going 0-6 with six different QBs (Dickey, Wright, Favre, Rodgers, Hundley, Love). Jordan Love is the only one to get a second crack in the Steel City. Hopefully that's the ticket.

Jack from Chicago, IL

Since AZ had to use the silent count can we really consider it a road win? I'm feeling like we should turn our attention to Pittsburgh and come out gunning for our first REAL road win Sunday night. I know the formula against Green Bay is dunk and dunk (which I will take honestly) but there is no way AR08 doesn't take any shots. I hope Xavier McKinney is feeling locked in! Do you have any feelings about how the Steelers might test this defense differently than we have seen recent opponents?

I don't know if it'll be much different. Rodgers will get the ball out very quickly, as he's done all season. The tight end Freiermuth will be a key target, and the QB will look for when the Packers try to man up outside on Metcalf and give him one-on-one opps. I do expect the Steelers to challenge the Packers' run defense more than recent opponents have.

Jeff from Athens, WI

As we look ahead to the Sunday night clash with our former QB and his newest team, I firmly feel we must play all four quarters at a very high level to secure another victory. Our defense last week was very porous in the first half and tightened up in the second to help get the W. What does the defense need to help them dominate the entire game against the Steelers? Same question for the offense as well. Complementary football wins ball games.

I don't see dominating a four-time MVP and HOF QB for an entire game, so if that's what you're after, I wouldn't watch. The defense needs to win the plays when it should be dictating to the offense, like third-and-forevers, and not jump offside. It also needs to tackle well on the short passes, which it's done most of the season except in Dallas. The offense needs to run the ball better, plain and simple. The running game provides balance, balance creates rhythm, and rhythm keeps a defense on its heels. Cincinnati's Chase Brown hadn't rushed for more than 47 yards in a game until last Thursday and went off for 108 against Pittsburgh. That's what made it so much harder for the Steelers to deal with the Flacco-Chase connection.

Jake from Herriman, UT

It was likely the Joe Montana episode of "A Football Life"; regardless, I remember seeing something where they discussed how much Joe's Chiefs teammates wanted to make sure he beat his old team when they met on Sept. 11, 1994. (Outcome: Chiefs 24, Niners 17). Obviously, Matt doesn't want this game to be about Aaron's revenge, but do you think there's anything to teammates having extra motivation when they know it matters a little more to "their guy"?

I won't dismiss it, but I think a bigger factor could be the Steelers coming in angry off that Bengals loss and rested after a mini-bye.

Phil from Madison, WI

Are you kidding me? Giving up 33 points in the fourth quarter after shutting them out in the first three? And losing because of a missed extra point? Can you imagine the Inbox if the Packers gave up something like that? Those who like to complain about every Packers blemish should try living in New York.

There are bad losses, brutal losses, and absolutely brutal losses. That was absolutely brutal on the part of the Giants against the Broncos. And it was two missed PAT kicks (with the kicker getting released) and a failed two-point conversion in the mix.

Eric from De Pere, WI

In Monday's Insider the question on our kickers was answered by saying maybe the Packers could get a draft choice for "him." I read it carefully a second time, but there is still no way to figure out which of the two possible "hims" you meant. Care to clear it up for us readers?

I didn't think I had to. Brandon McManus signed a three-year, $15M contract this past offseason for a reason. He's not going anywhere.

James from Augusta, WI

Are they really going to let Quay Walker hit free agency?

Gutey has said many times Walker is in the team's long-term plans, which usually means discussions have been had at some level. Meanwhile he's playing himself into a big payday. There are always two perspectives to understand, and we'll just have to see how the dust settles.

John from Byron, MN

LaFleur complimented the Cardinals on their coverage disguise. Is this a hard thing for defenses to do and a hard thing for offenses to adjust to? Perhaps the cause of our spotty offense in the game? Are there ways for the Packers to overcome this if other teams try the same?

Every team tries to, at least in certain situations, but some are better at it than others. The Cardinals apparently were really good at it because LaFleur made it clear it was a struggle to know what they were in. The Packers were getting similar compliments early in the season but not as much lately, so perhaps there are some tells on film. I honestly don't know. One potential counter is to have more choice or option routes, where the receiver determines his route based on how he reads the coverage (man or zone) after the snap. The risk is the QB and WR absolutely must be on the same page or disaster can strike. Another is to get more proficient at the quick/short passing game, taking the underneath stuff to consistently move the chains. That'll force a defense to come out of its shell and reveal more. Opponents have done this to GB and LaFleur has suggested his offense needs to get better at it.

Marcel from Manila, AR

I don't understand why Carrington Valentine has been phased out of the rotation in favor of Nate Hobbs. Is there something on tape that the average NFL viewer doesn't see? When I watch the games, Hobbs seems to get beaten more often than Valentine ever does.

A ton of submissions about Hobbs/Valentine. I'm not here to make coaching decisions, so I'll simply address what I know and don't know. Hobbs had a rough game in Arizona. His worst play, on the third-and-14 go ball, LaFleur indicated he played the wrong coverage due to miscommunication. He cropped up on the injury report last Friday with a knee, but there's been no information whether it's related to his August procedure or something different. He's also been in the concussion protocol (which carried through the post-bye practice week), and when that initially forced him to leave the Dallas game, Valentine had his own set of rough moments. Valentine played only two snaps on defense and one on special teams in Arizona, both season lows. I don't know why, but for a healthy player, the reason is usually schematic (game plan) or performance (in practice). Some have asked whether Hobbs should be shifted to the slot, but that would take either Javon Bullard or Evan Williams off the field. LaFleur expressed confidence Hobbs would rebound, and I've heard multiple coaches convey belief in Valentine many times. My read is the Packers expect more from both players, frankly. We'll see where this goes.

Paul from Ledgeview, WI

Mike, if you look at our OL individually, my understanding was the move of Elgton Jenkins, addition of Aaron Banks, and development of Jordan Morgan, the line is as good or better at every position compared with last year. To date has that been the case? Collectively has the OL been better? Do you think now the "best five" have settled in, the OL will begin to show significant improvement?

The current group, if this is the best five the coaches have settled on, has played two games together. Comparisons to last year aren't meaningful at this point. I think the unit has protected the QB rather well. The run blocking is where bigger strides must be made. LaFleur continues to harp on needing to run the ball effectively when the defense is sitting back to guard against the big play.

Dennis from Batavia, IL

Okay Mike, I saw your comment in the live chat during the game when people were lamenting all the Packer penalties and suggesting that they need to be coached up better. And you stated that they are professionals and it's on the players. Okay sure, but other teams have young teams and they have much better discipline, especially with pre-snap penalties. I know MLF said they preach it every practice, but I feel like they have to try something different to minimize this frustrating tendency.

That's pretty much what he said Monday, too. What they're doing isn't working and the players aren't fixing it themselves. I'm of the belief there are basics that shouldn't require constant coaching at this level, because that takes away from other areas of preparation. But ya gotta do what ya gotta do, and they gotta figure something out.

Gordon from Newport Beach, CA

Barring any setbacks, can Micah Parsons break the Packers' single-season sack record?

The official record is 19½ by Tim Harris in 1989, though it's been documented Ezra Johnson had 20½ in 1978 before sacks became an official stat. Right now, Parsons has 5½ with 11 regular-season games to go. Not out of reach by any means, but that's a tall climb.

Tom from Dell Rapids, SD

Have you heard if Micah received a fine for the hip-drop tackle?

That news usually comes out at the end of the week.

Earl from Williams Bay, WI

After watching the video of Coach giving out game balls and listening to Josh Jacobs literally choking up talking about his decision to play, followed by Tucker Kraft exhorting the team to play complementary football, how can anyone doubt the drive these players have and their love for the game and for each other? I feel good about this team's potential and where we go from here. Would you not run through walls to be a part of that locker room?

I'm not a big fan of the music preferences, but nobody asked me.

Bob from Mahtomedi, MN

Loved Spoff's "crazy stats" article. Wasn't there a crazy stat concerning Don Horn many years ago? Maybe four or five touchdowns in a game?

Yeah, I had some fun with that piece. Horn did throw five TDs in a game in the 1969 regular-season finale, the fifth of his six total starts as Packers QB. I probably could've included that one, too. At the time, it tied Cecil Isbell's franchise record from a 1942 game.

Jim from Roscoe, IL

In your article about Packer records you claim the longest INT return is 99 yards. George Teague has the record at 101 yards against the Lions in 1994.

That was in a playoff game. Different record book.

David from Eau Claire, WI

Will all the new field goal records come with an asteroid-size asterisk with the new K-ball?

An asteroid mentioned in the same breath as the K-ball. I see where this is going. Happy Wednesday.

HAVE A QUESTION?