Inbox: That tells the tale

Yotam from New Zealand

Welcome back Mike! Hope you had a relaxing vacation. Now that training camp is here, are we back to six servings of II a week?

Indeed we are.

Paul from Chicago, IL

Wes, appreciate the pettiness in your response to Bob from Kennesaw by including the (sic) next to the grammatical error. We see what you did there.

He made his editor proud.

Tracy from Green Bay, WI

How can we assure our fans that all four quarters of each game will played hard to not allow the other team into the game like the final game against the Bears?

Doesn't matter how long I go away, fan fallacies never do. This post illustrates two stubborn ones – (1) when your team is not playing well, it must mean they're not trying hard enough, and (2) when the other team isn't playing well, that's destined to never change.

Martin from Orlando, FL

I read in the New York Post the Packers lost money last year. However on the Packer app says that they made 130 million or so. What gives?

It's spelled out in the financial report. The gist is the Packers reported an operating loss of about $1M, but had non-operational income (investments and such) of more than $100M.

Mick from UK

Ed Policy recently highlighted the difference between the Packers and other teams with regard to raising money through the sale of minority interest ownership. As a fan in the UK, I would love to buy shares to help the Packers but am not allowed to do so. Missed opportunity?

No. Apples and orangutans.

Markus from Aurora, CO

Packers practice football is almost upon us, but first we have the shareholder meeting, which in part is sadly a thorn in the NFL's eye(s) since it makes some of the NFL financials public (at the 32nd share the Packers get from revenue sharing). I for one like this snit-bit of insight!

So do the national business reporters, because they get a ballpark number as to the entire league's annual revenues.

Camden from Altoona, WI

When will the Packers announce theme games and what uniforms they're wearing on what game?

Some of that will start to trickle out during training camp.

Alan from Fresno, CA

Best wishes to Kyle Shanahan for a speedy and full recovery. Does this make him the first coach in the concussion protocol?

I'm going to ignore the poor joke and take your first comment at face value. That sounded like a really scary deal. All the best to him.

Dar from Mansfield, TX

In replying to Richard from Santa Ana, Wes mentioned Bryan Bulaga stepping in for Mark Tauscher in 2010 as an example of needing talented backup tackles. Ironically, a decade earlier Tauscher, in similar fashion, replaced an injured Earl Dotson, the soon-to-be Packer HOFer. The wheel keeps turning, doesn't it?

Ideally.

Dave from Gwinn, MI

With the surge of dynamic/dual threat players (Kyle Juszczyk, Dallas Clark, Taysom Hill) do you think we'll ever see that stretched to the offensive line? A quick, agile tackle who's capable of being a sixth O-linemen, but athletic enough to go out for passes on a regular basis like a TE? It could definitely be an interesting chess piece.

Until 300-pound linemen start clocking 4.75s regularly in the 40, I don't think it'll be all that interesting, frankly.

David from Chestertown, MD

G'day Inbox mates! At this point in time what players would you consider constitute the spine of the Packers' D? Come on training camp and GPG!

Talking literal alignment, I would say two guys from each level constitute the backbone – Devonte Wyatt and Javon Hargrave up front, Zaire Franklin and Edgerrin Cooper behind them, plus Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams on the back end. If you're talking the more intangible heart-n-soul of the D, guys like Micah Parsons, Javon Bullard and Keisean Nixon are very much a part of that.

Randy from Clarksville, TN

Hey whomever. Was perusing the article about our linebackers and read a line that has me concerned. Spofford questioned, "How much was left in the tank" concerning Zaire. He is only 30 years old. Am I to be worried about 44's physical health? If so, I don't recall hearing of him having issues. Please relieve my concerns. Thanks as always.

There's no such thing as "only" 30 in this league except at quarterback. It's a young man's game. By all accounts, Franklin is fine and rarin' to go, but there's no ignoring the statistical falloff last year compared to his 2022-24 seasons as a full-time starter. He addressed it in the spring and sounded like a guy who's out to prove the Colts shouldn't have traded him for a part-time defensive lineman. I love his attitude and approach.

Brianne from Madison, WI

With RB MarShawn Lloyd being hurt all the time, having running backs on the practice squad, and not signing/drafting a running back, how do you think our running back situation is? Do think we need to sign one or trade for one if one RB gets hurt before the season starts?

With six backs on the roster as camp begins, and three preseason games to get through, any absence is likely to prompt an acquisition. They have a plan. But I also think in that situation the personnel department will want to find out what it has behind the veteran Chris Brooks, in whom the organization believes steadfastly. Pierre Strong Jr. and Damien Martinez were both drafted by other teams, and Jaden Nixon may have gone undrafted but has intriguing traits.

Mark from Snellville, GA

Welcome back, Mike! I'm excited NOLA is hosting a Packers rally – I'll be there! There's been a lot of II posts this offseason about improving special teams. One thing that drove me crazy last year was returning kickoffs that would have landed in the end zone. I Love our scoring chances starting at the 35 (pun intended), but we usually ended up with worse field position. Isn't it as simple as coaching returners to line up around the 2-yard line and let any kick above the waist go? Thanks and GPG!

The returner needs to be sure the ball isn't going to bounce short of the goal line, because the ball doesn't come out to the 35 in that instance. But the general lack of awareness of the returners last year was indeed frustrating.

Dale from Prescott, WI

Assuming Parsons starts on the PUP list, he will be on the sideline doing individual drills and such I assume, but can he still be in the meeting rooms with the rest of the players on defense?

Yes.

Ray from US

When camp starts, I know the injured players go to the meetings, but do they get and time with the coaches on drills or are they only under the watchful eye of the medical team?

Players on PUP or any other injured list cannot do on-field work with coaches until activated.

TK from Grafton, WI

If the Packer playbook was an actual book (I'm assuming it's tablet-based), how many pages would it have? (This was part of a recent discussion about rookies needing to get up to speed before contributing.)

I don't know what the total pages would be, but I'm guessing it's at least twice as many as any playbook they saw in college.

Gordon from Newport Beach, CA

If you gave the Packers' defense three additional interceptions last season – the ones they had realistic chances to make – which missed opportunities would have had the biggest impact on the season? Were there specific games where one interception could have changed the outcome?

I'd have to dig back through the film for the details, but I recall one in Denver and one in Chicago that could've significantly impacted those games.

Luke from Port Alsworth, AK

I haven't been keeping up with as much II as I usually do. Salmon are swimming up into our lake and I've been busy catching, processing and smoking them. It's a huge resource and blessing for us! I saw some talk recently about Mike Holmgren and the HOF. I'm surprised he's not in yet and my criteria has been "can you tell the story of the NFL without them?" and for Mike I say no, you can't. His coaching tree, lifting GB out of the dark ages and then a GM and coach in Seattle. What am I missing?

Sports Illustrated recently published a piece for which the writer surveyed a portion of the HOF selection committee (anonymously) to ask for the biggest snubs, among candidates who have been eligible for at least five years and other stipulations. Then a scoring system was used to tabulate the voting. The top two snubs weren't even players. They were Mike Shanahan and Mike Holmgren.

Ric from Longmont, CO

Another news outlet (ESPN) ran a story on Sean Payton and the lead up to the AFC Championship Game. An eye-opening read with insight into the schedule of NFL coaches (often sleeping in their offices), as well as how hours of effort put into tuning play packages can be rendered useless on game day. If you've read it, will you share your thoughts? Thanks for all you do!

The access afforded the writer (Wickersham) was practically unprecedented, and I commend him on taking advantage of it to provide compelling insight. I wouldn't say I was shocked by anything, but it reminded me how much work and attention goes into portions of a game plan that never see the light of day. McCarthy used to say he goes into games with enough on his call sheet to play a doubleheader.

Sean from Belvidere, IL

What's one adjustment you've noticed Matt LaFleur make over the past few seasons that doesn't get enough attention but has made a significant difference?

That would be something Wes discussed last week – his game plans for backup QBs. When you compare how Jordan Love's start in KC in 2021 went compared to anytime over the last two years Malik Willis had to step in for Love, that tells the tale.

Matt from Sioux Falls, SD

We all know injuries happen, which position do you think we can handle the best if a major injury happens? I think guard by the sounds of it with what everyone is saying about Jager Burton.

I know injuries are inevitable, but why would I want to pontificate about one that hasn't occurred?

Ben from Avon, IN

I was on Reddit recently and responded "OK" to a comment. The response was "Flip and flop." Are you ever amazed by the reach of this column?

Nope. Happy Monday.

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