Al from Tulsa, OK

Since the word krieg means war in German, can we expect a battle for the kicking position?

Ouch. Please see yourself out.

Marty from Rancho Cordova, CA

At 63 trips around the sun, is it okay that I get misty-eyed seeing the pictures of the players with the kids and bikes? Unlike me, it will never get old.

No, no it won't.

Tim from Windsor, CO

Curious where Mike sits and types for the training camp live look-ins? I don't recall a "press box." Thanks for including these, very helpful and exciting to follow.

There's no place for us to sit during practice. Wes and I are posting on X/Twitter on our phones, and our helpful department colleagues gather everything for the live look-in.

Mark from Westminster, CO

This may have been asked before, but why are the Packers Daily videos all under 60 seconds long?

Because, due to a contractual obligation, those are fed to a local cable channel and that's the length they requested. They used to be longer but sometime last year the cable outlet wanted them shortened.

Matt from Middleton, WI

Hi Mike, you must have been the lullaby king when your children were young. I can't make it through an episode of "Unscripted" without nodding off.

Not quite sure how to take that, but a big apology to our "Unscripted" listeners. We recorded Thursday's show before practice and then found out later there were technical problems in the control room that forced us to junk it, and we were just too swamped with other stuff to re-shoot. We'll be back next week in full force.

Glen from Leesburg, VA

Is it me or does it seem like the Packers are limping into this year's training camp compared to previous? Seeing the number of starters who are either PUP or just not practicing yet is a bit of concern. I don't want to get too anxious about it yet, but I'm hoping Keisean Nixon, Javon Hargrave, Aaron Banks, Zach Tom, Luke Musgrave and others are just precautionary. The silver lining is it gives younger guys some extra reps, and that's always a good thing. I hope they get healthy soon.

Nothing feels all that alarming to me. Banks and Tom are already practicing, Nixon only missed one day, and nobody's talking long-term concern with Hargrave. Musgrave is the one that gets your attention. Hopefully he can get through whatever this neck issue is.

Ryan from Sun Prairie, WI

Will Nixon be in the mix for returning kickoffs this year?

I doubt it.

Jim from Columbus, IN

Training camp is just getting started but from a coach's perspective, what are you looking at and for in those first few sessions? Especially that first week? Go Pack Go!

You're looking for players to combine assignment-assuredness (playbook knowledge) with peak athleticism. Don't think too much so you don't slow down, and if you make a mistake, learn from it and don't repeat it.

Keith from Lincoln, IL

Visiting training camp is always a thrill, and it's hard to beat the emotions of watching the bike kids beam with pride when they're escorting a player to the practice field. But what should we really be watching for from the players on that practice field? Any Insider tips?

Play to play, I don't watch the linemen much until the pads go on. With the perimeter players, it's seeing whether an offensive guy creates some space for a play to be made, or how a defender reacts to what's in front of him. Bigger picture, we're always looking at who's taking the first- and second-team reps to understand the depth chart, and then following rotations and special personnel packages.

Kevin from Indianapolis, IN

I recognize that every player's journey is different and comparison can be a fool's errand. I just can't help myself. When I look at how the Packers cleared the way for Matthew Golden to get significantly more opportunities, is it crazy to believe he could have a similar trajectory to Jaxon Smith-Njigba? Golden has the speed, separation ability, and hands to be dangerous. Not to mention the fact that he has a QB that can make all the throws as well. Is hope more than the thing with feathers?

You said it yourself. Fool's errand. Golden has a lot to prove before any comparison is worth the brain cells. Moreover, with Cooper Kupp in his early 30s and Rashid Shaheed a speedy returner still progressing at receiver, the cast of Christian Watson and Jayden Reed around Golden creates a starkly different dynamic.

Jim from Mundelein, IL

Do you think GB keeps a BIG WR on the final 53? If so, can you opine whether Isaiah Neyor or J. Michael Sturdivant or another is the lead candidate. Sorry for this submission. The baloney season still looms large in my football world.

As it stands now, which is super early, it may come down to whether the Packers feel there's room for a seventh receiver on the 53. Watson, Reed, Golden and Savion Williams are the top four, and I expect Skyy Moore and Bo Melton to make the squad with dual roles on special teams. Neyor was the most impressive of the roster hopefuls in the spring, and he's off to a good start in camp. But receiver prospects are in abundance across the league. The college game cranks them out like nobody's business. Barring a team getting decimated by injuries, receivers are among the rarest of waiver claims. Lots to consider.

Craig from Sussex, WI

Bears have question marks with their defense, Lions have injury problems (already) and the Vikings aren't sure who will be their quarterback. Packers aren't the only team with problem areas. The team that handles (overcomes) these problems probably wins division. I believe this division could be won by any of the four teams.

I'd say the Vikings are the least likely to win it, but there's no clear front-runner amongst the other three.

Jeff from Champlin, MN

Barring training camp/preseason injuries or incidents, this looks to be a tough 53 to crack. Big believer in keeping an ample supply of big-bodied OL and DT jars on the shelf, but our injury history/potential suspension at WR, TE and RB is concerning. Should Gutey consider keeping more than the usual number of players at one or more of these positions?

Way too early to tell, but I agree this is a tough 53 to crack.

Bret from Hertel, WI

Was there a position that you thought would have been addressed in the offseason to increase competition before camp that was not? How can the scouting department watch the other teams during training camp? Preseason games? Public practices?

I wouldn't consider any position neglected. Given Musgrave's situation, lack of a late addition at tight end tells me Tucker Kraft will indeed be out there pretty soon. The scouts scour all the preseason game film around the league, and they can also attend any practices where admission is charged, but for most teams that's a maximum of one, like Family Night here.

Zak from Colorado Springs, CO

Which 1v1 (offense vs. defense) battles are you most excited to watch during camp/practice this year?

Golden vs. Brandon Cisse, Jordan Morgan vs. Lukas Van Ness, and Anthony Belton vs. Devonte Wyatt.

David from Chestertown, MD

Salutations II. The mention of a nifty TD by MarShawn Lloyd in practice got me excited thinking about his potential role. Do you think he'll be a third-down type back? I don't really know about his pass catching/protection skills – do you have any insight on this? Here's hoping this young man finally gets a chance to show his chops after all his bad luck. GPG.

We've seen Lloyd catch plenty of passes out of the backfield, but blitz pickup is a bit of an unknown at this point. He's not a third-down back, though. In my opinion, he's a feature back in the making.

Jim from Prairie du Chien, WI

Good morning all! Great piece on Zaire Franklin. "Leadership starts with a servant mentality." This should be on the desk of every boss on the planet. He sounds like exactly what the Packers need as a player. He sounds like the perfect coach of the future. Also, "Damn, was I supposed to buy a bike?" Pure gold! GPG!

If you haven't checked out Wes’s feature on Franklin, it's worth your time.

Richard from Woodruff, WI

Hello II, good to be back talking about football. You mentioned ZF getting a Walter Payton award with the Colts. Is that honor given to one person on each team? Or is that award given to only one (player)? Who was the Packers nominee (winner) last season? The past few seasons? Thanks.

Each team nominates one player for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award and then the league selects the overall winner. Jordan Love, Kenny Clark and Aaron Jones have been the Packers' nominees in recent years.

Chris from Bettendorf, IA

The NFL is sleeping on the Packers? I sincerely hope the other 31 teams are not relying on the 90% of national "experts" that spend 15 seconds analyzing a team and declare their "in-depth knowledge" of the league. Any opposing coach knows this was not the same team in January that was leading the division. So what, there was not a first-round pick and no "splashy" free agent signing. Come October this is a team capable of going deep in the playoffs. Just get through the first quarter.

Two days into camp and the intensity of the fan base is prevalent.

David from Bay Minette, AL

The two-a-days brought back memories in Las Vegas. Hell week (10 days) was made to get us in shape. We practiced early morning and evenings; water being withheld was normal for mistakes, lack of hustle, etc., we made it through. The worst day of the year was the day after Labor Day, the grass was so hot at 2 p.m. Then I played football in S. Utah, five practices a day, three were padded. 16-hour days. Army basic training for me was easy after that experience. What experiences prepared for your job?

Five practices a day? Mercy. In this business, there's no preparation better than having to work under real deadline pressure. These days, deadlines aren't the same, and in many ways don't really exist, but I like to say in the online world the deadline is always 20 minutes ago. Anyway, during my newspaper days, we had hard deadlines that had to be met or everything else in the printing and distribution process would get delayed, and you didn't want to be that guy. I remember within my first month or so at the Wausau Daily Herald, fresh out of grad school, I was covering a big volleyball sectional final that was nearly an hour away on a Saturday night (the Sunday print deadline was the earliest of the week). No portable/remote filing option yet because I was the new guy. The best-of-five went, of course, the full five games. I charted the match throughout, ran to the coaches right after to grab a few stats and quotes, and stepped on it to get back to the office. When I walked in, the front page of the Sunday sports section was almost all done, including the color photo accompanying my story (the shooter could leave early) and the three color plates for the press. All they needed was my copy to plug in to make the black plate, and the presses would start. As I sat down at my desk, my sports editor hollered from across the room, "You've got 15 inches and 15 minutes" – inches meaning column inches, so a 5-inch leg times three columns, or roughly 600 words. I had the story written, mostly, in my head on the drive back, but I had to bang it out as fast as I could, and I filed it with about a minute to spare. Learning how to deliver under that kind of pressure was invaluable, and for the last umpteen years, it's made filing the full game recap story on my laptop before the bus gets to the airport a relative piece of cake.

Mark from Lansing, MI

The baloney might not have stopped, but I am glad the bland bologna season is over. Reading 5 things and watching 3 things tasted more like a nice turkey sandwich, from the deli not the pre-packaged stuff. Preseason games have a welcome piquancy and more chew like roast beef on sourdough. Whose performance will be the au jus? But that beef aroma only raises the anticipation of the taste buds. Fear not my carnivore friends, soon we will be dining on a big juicy divisional porterhouse.

Nope, sorry. Davy from Watertown also tried to substitute salami for baloney now that camp has started. But there is no menu between games that matter. Not for me anyway. Camp beats the offseason, but it doesn't tide me over. It only gets me more eager for the real deal. Happy Friday.

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