Inbox: That's how this needs to work

Etienne from St. Joachim de Tourelle, Canada

On to the Cowboys. If the tree knew the fate the axe is reserving for him, he would not have supplied the handle.

Or Aesop's eagle and arrow work, too.

Adrian from Oregon City, OR

It's become cliché right? "The other guys get paid, too." Wasn't it WR James Jones who said it first?

I heard it first from JJ, long before I ever met Vic.

Julian from Gastonia, NC

Dating to 2024 the Packers have lost their last three road games and four of their last five. If this is a team built to win games on the road they need to start showing it at Dallas.

Couldn't agree more. This game might test the old adage that defense always travels, because Dallas' offense always seems to perform considerably better at home.

Josh from Arvada, CO

I know a lot will be said and written about Micah Parsons returning to Dallas, but on the other side of the field, I sure do hope the Packers put an extra hat on ol' Kenny Clark…because I would expect his fire to be burning at an all-time high playing against the team who traded him away after he gave all he could to the franchise. I continue to wish him well, though maybe not so much on Sunday night.

It sounds like Clark's availability is in question due to an ankle injury. I believe Kenny has the most pressures (nine) of anyone in the Dallas pass rush, which has just four sacks in three games.

Steve from Cedar Falls, IA

CeeDee Lamb rolled up his ankle and it looked bad when it happened. Has there been any update on his availability? He is a huge part of their offense.

The Cowboys have announced Lamb is out multiple weeks, as is starting guard Tyler Booker.

Kevin from Westminster, CO

Can Josh Jacobs wear No. 33 for this game?

Ha. Jonesy had some big games in that building, didn't he?

Randy from Klamath Falls, OR

No question today, just an observation and confession. Sunday I was ready to send a blistering email to the Inbox with all kinds of complaints and rants. As the night wore on the hurt faded and then I saw "What are they going to do about it?" Exactly. The coaches and players know what happened and they are the only ones who can fix it; we can only watch. After they right the ship and beat the Cowboys all will be good.

I chose that headline for Monday's column because it was the only thought going through my mind after sifting through hundreds of submissions like the one you didn't send.

Frank from Waterloo, IA

What do you attribute the lack of offensive line success against Cleveland, and the running game for the season to this point? Was it young guys playing against a really good front? The lack of reps together in training camp due to injuries (and still)? How do you see them improving?

Maybe all the position switching with young players got to be too much against a front as talented as Cleveland's, particularly with all the attention paid to Garrett. Having so much trouble early almost certainly contributed to the false starts as the game wore on, too. Regardless, the running game will improve when the passing game makes defenses pay for focusing on Jacobs. Jordan Love was 12-of-16 for 167 yards, two TDs and a 147.7 passer rating in the first half against Detroit, and then Jacobs pounded out 58 yards on 13 carries in the second half. That's how this needs to work, the way defenses are playing the Packers. Love threw for 292 and Jacobs ran for 84 against Washington. I'll take that combo anytime. The O-line was on point the first two games. But if a defense keys on Jacobs and Love isn't protected well enough, you get days like Cleveland.

Len from Spooner, WI

Observing many games over the weekend, all teams were out of huddle with 12-14 seconds. We are rarely in that time span, and many 8-10, then putting one or two in motion. Could this be contributing to pre-snap issues and not having time to adjust to defensive setup? Appreciate your thoughts. GPG!

The play call appeared to come late too many times Sunday. I didn't sense it was an issue at all in the first two games.

John from Mequon, WI

There was a lack of situational awareness by two key players. First, Love slid before the first-down line when there was room to slide after the line to gain. The Packers then failed to get that first down. Second, Xavier McKinney, instead of intercepting, could have batted down the fourth-down pass/punt and the Packers would have had much better field position to try to move into field goal range with 12 seconds still left. Thoughts?

LOTS of folks asking about these two plays, so I'll tackle both here. On the Love slide, I thought when I saw it live he could've gotten the first down before sliding, and said so in the live blog. After seeing the film, two defenders were closing fast and Love would've had to absorb significant contact to assure getting the first down. Since it wasn't third down, he wasn't focused on the sticks and smartly avoided a big hit. What can't happen there is turning third-and-1 into third-and-6 with a false start on the next snap. On McKinney's INT, I felt in the moment he should've knocked it down. Maybe he thought he could get up and try a long return and see what happens, but his foot touched the boundary as he rolled over on the catch, so that was that. Batting it down would've given the Packers the ball on their own 43 with just four seconds left, so a Hail Mary was the only possibility. Given GB's struggles in protection, not giving Myles Garrett a run at Love on a long-developing pass play might've been a blessing in disguise. I remember a QB who broke his thumb on a Hail Mary in London not long ago.

Sean from Springfield, OR

The couple of plays that stick out were the balls Love sailed a little too high for Jacobs to catch. The Browns' defense came as advertised, do you think Love was rushing some throws or getting happy feet?

I think the duress he was under much of the day made, at times, the seemingly simple things more difficult.

Mick from UK

In training camp there was a big emphasis on forcing fumbles. How many forced fumbles have we made in the first three games?

None, but getting hung up on turnovers the way the defense is playing … it feels like nitpicking to the nth degree right now.

Brian from Charlottesville, VA

After reading LaFleur's comments about pad level on the blocked kick, I'm curious about in-game adjustments. Either Wayne or Larry commented on radio that on the first FG Brandon McManus barely got it off because of Cleveland's penetration. Was LaFleur's comment only after film study? Did coaches not notice and put in adjustments in-game? Or did the Packers line simply get "lifted" twice?

Valid question. Several readers have mentioned Larry's comment on radio about the first field goal. We'll have to see what Bisaccia says when he meets with the media Thursday.

George from Edinburg, VA

Good morning. Watching live, I was shocked at the Love interception. Today, I saw a film breakdown that made me appreciate the play. The Packers ran a similar concept twice earlier, with Grant Delpit or whoever was in that position covering a clear-out route. On the interception, Delpit initially appeared to do the same, then reversed for the pick. The ball was so low, I wonder if Love tried to stop the throw, seeing him at the last moment.

After I looked at the film and saw how inaccurate the pass was, I wondered the same thing. Or if Love was expecting Dontayvion Wicks' route to be flatter and he was trying to pull the ball down for that reason. Whatever the case, the obsession over this play and selective amnesia some folks have about the bad plays made by Love's predecessors have reached either the comical or disturbing stage, I can't decide which.

Jim from St. Pete Beach, FL

I agree with Mike that in general no one can say "I was good enough," yet it's hard to pin any part of that loss on our dominant D.

True, but if the loss stings to the point the best facet of the team is still pushing for more, that's a good thing.

Ben from Avon, IN

Not a question but a thought for all the doomsday fans. We don't know if the Browns are good or bad yet. They may win 12 games this year and if they do, we'll just look back and see a good team we should've beaten. The season is young. So much yet to be written. Just look back at 2009. Everyone remembers that crazy shootout in the desert against the Cardinals in the playoffs. Yet everyone seems to forget losing to the 0-7 Buccaneers during the season.

To a rookie QB Josh Freeman making his first NFL start, no less, who lost his next five starts as well. I was there, and I confess I thought the '09 team was going nowhere after that. Then it went 7-1 over the second half and nearly pulled off a playoff comeback for the ages. But this Browns team is not winning 12 games. I'll take that to the Bushwood casino. As Wes said, that defense is going to keep them in a lot of games, but defense can't win that many.

Jeff from Indian Lake, NY

I always enjoy the Monday press conference from Matt LaFleur after a loss. Strange, I know. But after he has had a night to sleep on it and review the film, I really enjoy listening to him break down what went wrong and give an idea of what can be done to fix glaring issues. Were you as surprised as I was that he straight up admitted to underestimating the rest of Cleveland's D-line? We should probably be on to Dallas by now but that struck me as incredibly honest for an already honest guy.

I made this plea on "Unscripted," so I'll do it again here. Fans need to watch that full 20 minutes of LaFleur's Monday presser. He's at his best at the podium the day after a tough loss. He's forthcoming with his analysis of the failures, and he gives his feel for the pulse of the team and how to move forward.

Kevin from Hermansville, MI

Little things … if that dreadful sack would've happened on the first play of the fourth quarter, the clock would've run off close to a min. No time for a field goal at the end. If Matthew Golden could've held his footing, could anyone catch him? If coach calls the play he had in mind on third down, clock runs and punt if unsuccessful. It's always the little things.

Because the margins are forever small. For the many asking, LaFleur admitted Monday he shouldn't have given Love a play call in that end-of-quarter situation.

Craig from Sussex, WI

Lions look like a machine running the ball. What the Packers did to them in the first game was impressive.

The Packers came out on fire and never lost their edge. That was Detroit's first game with a new offensive coordinator and new interior of the O-line, with Glasgow moving to center and two new guards stepping in. That unit took it on the chin that day but didn't take long to find its footing.

Joe from Bozeman, MT

Well, the Lions just made a pretty big statement beating the Ravens in Baltimore. After scoring 90 points in two weeks I think they're still the favorite to win the North and the NFC.

I said on "Unscripted" I thought Detroit's win Monday night is the single most impressive victory/performance of the NFL season thus far. Rushing for 200-plus yards in Baltimore and sacking Lamar Jackson seven times? Mercy. Meanwhile, in the NFC the Eagles, Niners and Bucs are all 3-0, with the Packers, Lions, Vikings, Commanders, Rams, Cardinals and Seahawks all 2-1. Buckle up folks.

Sue from Three Lakes, WI

It seems like every year we lose a game we should have clearly won and win a game we perhaps should have lost. Cleveland is the former, are the Lions the latter or is it still TBD?

I sure hope it's TBD. There was nothing fluky about how the Packers beat the Lions and Commanders. They controlled those games and finished them. We'll see if they steal one somewhere along the way. But for now, just beat the Cowboys.

Eric from Green Bay, WI

The NFL makes perfect sense. Packers smash the Lions. The Lions smash the Ravens. The Ravens smash the Browns. The Browns beat the Packers. Totally predictable!

Indubitably.

Mike from Granite City, IL

Here is a crazy stat suggestion. The Green Bay Packers have trailed for 0:00 of gametime this season. They are the only team left in the NFL who can say this. The six undefeated 3-0 teams around the league have fallen behind at one point or another. I know it doesn't ease the pain, but what do you think?

I think the same thing I did Monday, the Packers are 2-1 and have a lot of (stuff) to figure out. Happy Wednesday.

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