Jake from Marina Del Rey, CA

Well I, for one, am glad the bye is done with. Back to Packers football!

The long haul begins.

Jason from Ammon, ID

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Herbert from Palm Desert! Send those typing fingers to the corner for a long timeout to contemplate the angst and emotional pain their words caused so many. Post-gameday II is the most critical of all the IIs. Dang, man...

Ha. I just wish we could create a key to unlock it, like you have to read at least two of the four postgame stories Wes and I write before you can have your Inbox.

John from Ludgershall, UK

I notice that there hasn't been much talk about lasers and goalposts in the II recently. I don't know if you watched any of the Women's Rugby World Cup, but they had goalposts that lit up green or red depending upon whether the kick taken at them went through or not. Lasers are coming…!

The WRWC was not on my radar this past week, but the update is appreciated.

Gary from Cross Plains, WI

Any given Sunday. How many had both Buffalo and Philly losing at home on their bingo card? No more undefeateds which seems really early. Is this the earliest those '72 Dolphins got to do their toast?

I don't have that list in front of me, but it does feel awfully early.

Pete from Caledonia, MI

Looking at Sunday's results…Minnesota beat a way better Cleveland offense than GB faced, and moved the ball on the Browns D. The Lions pummeled Cincy, but the Bengal receivers can still do damage if GB plays like the Dallas game. The Lions 100% have returned to form. Arizona defined "self-inflicted wounds" in their loss, which appears to be their theme for the year. Did I miss something regarding upcoming or common opponents that you saw? Thanks for all your work.

I'm guessing that's the last time this year the Eagles will blow a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Sharon from Stewartstown, PA

Did you think there was pass interference at the end of the Eagles game? Sure looked like it.

I've seen less get called. But the fact it wasn't obvious (at least not to me) the intended receiver was in good position to catch the ball made me OK with the no-call. The problem is not all crews call it that way in that situation.

Bob from Jensen Beach, FL

Mike. I'm glad we played Detroit and Wash early at home this year. Both teams look much better now than when we met them. Is Detroit right now the best team in the NFC?

I'm not knocking Philly off its throne due to one bad quarter of football in five weeks. But the 1-2 at the top of the conference is pretty clear right now.

Brandon from Imperial, MO

Good morning, a few observations from watching other teams this weekend. Like we've learned from II, sometimes the healthiest team is the one that goes deep. The Ravens have more than half of their salary cap out with injury. Also, momentum is real and matters, just ask the Dolphins, Cardinals, Eagles, and Seahawks. What were the other themes you noticed?

I'm a bit flabbergasted for the second week in a row a team lost a game primarily due to an untouched player on his way to the end zone not keeping control of the ball across the goal line. The Colts bounced back from it this week, and now the Cardinals are in a similar bounce-back mode next week against … the Colts.

Ron from Broken Arrow, OK

Mike, you gotta love the Seattle/Tampa throwbacks! I had forgotten how good the Seattle original uniforms looked. And I've always liked the Bucs originals.

Seattle never should've changed if you ask me. But yeah, that game provided great color visuals, and turned out to be a whale of a showdown, too.

Eric from Kenosha, WI

May the bye week be our annual reminder that other teams have disappointing results, too. The Broncos were good enough to win in Philly, yet they have two last-second losses on their ledger.

The AFC West sure looks like an intriguing division, minus one struggling team.

Daryl from Helena, MT

I was really impressed with Stroud and the Texans as they powered through Baltimore's defense. Also shocked by Baltimore's poor start this season. What's your take on the Ravens?

That Baltimore defense is a shell of its former self. It's stunning to see a John Harbaugh defense play so poorly so often.

Ed from Framingham, MA

Mike, how much would you enjoy doing the two-week stretch the Vikings just completed overseas? Pros and cons?

I'd enjoy that a lot more than what we did three years ago, which was flying across the pond on Thursday night (arriving crack of dawn UK time Friday) and flying back home right after the game Sunday. I felt like I'd been through some sort of time warp.

Jennifer from Middleton, WI

Hi Spoff, after the Browns game slipping away you commented about their games coming up against the Lions and Vikings to know how much impact that loss will have for us. It feels more weighty now. P.S. Darn those Vikings. Their ability to squeak out wins at the end is infuriating.

Cleveland had a run of four possessions in the fourth quarter, all with the lead, during which its offense gained a grand total of one first down. Just brutal. The way it played out, the Browns would've been better off if the Vikings had made the 51-yard field goal to tie (which apparently veered to the right because it hit the skycam cable and nobody noticed?) so Cleveland would've been forced to score again instead of just trying to protect a lead. They simply gave the Vikings too many chances, and you could see at the end how exhausted Myles Garrett was.

Jasper from Germany

It's actually amazing that the Packers pulled off a loss to these Browns.

That too. But onward and forward.

Amanda from New York, NY

The last couple weekends had left me a bit bereft, but a weekend of watching non-Packers games left me feeling a bit better. Other teams have untimely turnovers, blocked kicks, penalties, and three-and-outs too. For me, one reason it is particularly frustrating when the Packers make these mistakes is I still believe our ceiling is much higher than most, so it feels like we are beating ourselves. But these things will happen, we just need to be better about avoiding a spiral. Onto the Bengals!

Bad stuff happens. All the time. The question is can you recover from it? Can you right the ship when things start to go wrong? That's what separates the teams that get to double-digit wins from those that don't.

Gary from Engadine, MI

Parity in the NFL? The number of upsets this weekend clearly shows the NFL is getting what it wants. Nearly every team is able to beat any team at any time. Add in the high attendance, even overseas, and it looks like a formula for success. What could go wrong?

Oh they'll keep messing with a good thing, like the schedule and playoff structure. This league is great at that.

Justin from Thousand Oaks, CA

Jan Stenerud was the first kicker I remember and out of curiosity I looked back at his career stats: 66.8% on field goals, with a long of 55, and he's in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I know it can be hard to compare different eras, but that would get you fired in today's game. No wonder teams punted so much more often. Deciding to kick a FG must have been a completely different calculus.

True, though back then after a missed field goal outside the 20, the opponent took over at the previous line of scrimmage, not the spot of the kick, which became the rule in 1994.

Andy from Wisconsin Rapids, WI

I've got a technical question. In a hurry-up situation like the end of OT, can the coach talk to the QB up to the snap since the play clock is at more than 15 seconds? Is MLF talking to Jordan Love after the checkdown tackle and as the clock is ticking down until the snap? How does that work when the play clock isn't really a factor?

I'm not 100% sure on all the specifics, but I believe the helmet communication shuts off, regardless of time on the play clock, once the offense is getting into formation. So in a true no-huddle, there may not be much time for communication, if any. I've read in various places that it's 15 seconds on the play clock or the snap, whichever comes first, but if that's true, that's a major change. Because I remember talking with McCarthy back when I first got here about the system and he told me once the QB is walking up to the line of scrimmage, he couldn't talk to him anymore.

John from Green Bay, WI

Coming up against a struggling Bengals team how do we keep our team ready?

By focusing less on the Bengals and more on the Packers. This team needs to work on itself first and foremost.

Ronald from Jacksonville, FL

Praise in public, correct in private. I'm good with our coaches not airing out the dirty laundry in public. It can be frustrating for us fans, but on the whole, I'd rather trust them to find all the lost socks.

Coaches who focus on the fans and not their players don't last long.

Steve from Seven Devils, NC

Coming off this weekend at 2-1-1, what is one area you are looking at in terms of emphasis and improvement for the offense, the defense and special teams?

Offense? Pre-snap penalties. Defense? Situational awareness/execution. Special teams? Protection and penalties.

Cassidy from San Diego, CA

I'm happy to see the return of the FULL CONSISTENCY trope. Memories make us rich.

I couldn't resist.

James from Sterling Heights, MI

Who are you most looking forward to coming back from injury after the bye?

I just want to see the starting offensive line work together full-time on a weekly basis. That's the starting point on the health front for me. The rest can hopefully fall into place in due time.

Gary from Denver, CO

A lot of fans will be waiting for news on returns from IR, injury updates, etc. When can we expect the update(s) this week?

The players return to practice today, and all the reporters there (including me) will be seeing who's out there on the field.

Jason from Spokane, WA

Magic 8-Ball ...who is that breakout player you are predicting after Week 4?

On offense, I think Josh Jacobs is about to bust loose, and on defense, I'll say I'm interested in Nate Hobbs as he gets further removed from his training camp knee surgery and recent concussion.

Detlef from Weil im Schonbuch, Germany

Hi Insiders. It seems to me that Quay Walker is very active and around the ball way more than in the past couple seasons, chasing down ball carriers and being a sure tackler. On the other hand, Edgerrin Cooper does not stand out as much as last year with highlight plays like TFLs. What are your observations and thoughts on mine?

I thought in the first three games, both of those guys were all over the place, splash plays or not. It felt like Walker was more of a presence than Cooper in this last game, but Hafley didn't blitz much so I'm not going to overthink it.

Scott from Berrien Center, MI

Hey Mike, learned a lot from WYMM and sorry to see it go, but have enjoyed the crazy stats columns this season. In the most recent one, you closed with the line that the Cowboys, prior to the recent tie with the Pack, had previously held the second longest no-tie streak in league history, dating back almost 56 years to Thanksgiving 1969. Which begs the question, who holds the longest no-tie streak?

The Patriots. It's an active streak that has surpassed 900 games and dates back to 1967.

Ryan from New York, NY

A question for fans of your live blog, where do you pick your live blog questions from? Are they still coming from Twitter or is it purely from the chatbox on the website? Any tips on getting a question answered?

I'm looking only at the submissions in the live chat platform. I don't have time to be checking X/Twitter. Tips? It's all luck. Seriously. The questions and comments come in so fast and furious, and my windows to glance at them are so small while detailing the action, I just pop something in that catches my fancy. That's really it.

Hal from Lanesboro, MN

This is for Mike. When you watch the all-22 replay, what specifically are you looking for? Asking for a friend.

Most of the time I like to look at the key plays in a game and see why they worked or what went wrong. Because I don't watch/listen to the TV broadcasts, I don't know what the analysts have said (unless people are feeding me that info in the live chat), and that's not a bad thing. I try to look at the all-22 with fresh eyes.

Eric from Westerville, OH

Hey, go Brewers!

Good start. But just a start.

Jack from Chicago, IL

Four weeks in and we came away with wins in the two most important games. The other two games were frustrating for various reasons but it's a long season. If we think back to 2023 our team looked like there was way more to fix and that team was dynamic in the playoffs. In 2024 the team started stumbling heading into the playoffs. I guess all this to say we've seen the flashes, I hope the consistency builds as we go. It won't be linear.

Never is.

Jeff from Foothill Ranch, CA

We're on to Cincinnati. I've been wanting to say that for years!

Happy Monday.

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