Inbox: They know what it takes

Jim from Prairie du Chien, WI

Good morning all! Come on, Spoff. You're not just "having fun." We all know that your favorite band is The Guess Whom! GPG!

That's borderline brilliant.

Tom from Suwanee, GA

In the response to Theresa from Sylvania, OH, it was said … But all must "soldier" on. Was that a "no pun intended"? I thought it was quite creative considering the venue where the collapse occurred! Love the column and the job you guys do…GPG

Ha, didn't even occur to me. Must've been purely subliminal.

Tallon from Castle Rock, CO

Having Micah Parsons as the only Pro Bowler for a very talented roster is disrespectful and adds insult to injury. The Pro Bowl has been a joke for years, but which player from our roster do you think most deserved to make it? I say Jordan Love or Daniel Whelan.

I would agree. Those were the additional two whose chances I liked best.

Scott from Holly Springs, NC

What do we need to do to beat Baltimore?

Finish drives and keep whichever quarterback – Jackson or Huntley – in the pocket.

Julian from Gastonia, NC

This rather silly question is fraught with portent. Is it easier to play quarterback with a bad throwing shoulder or a bad back? And the NFL wants to play 18 regular-season games.

We'll see how long the union can hold out, and/or what the owners will give them in exchange.

Gordy from Plymouth, WI

Why doesn't the NFL use college football's targeting rule? Theirs has some bite (suspensions from future games and immediate removal from the current game). Right now getting flagged for committing a dangerous hit doesn't mean a thing to today's players. Get the other team's players knocked out of a game, a fine, so what plenty of money.

Long story short, that type of punishment, such as college football's targeting rule, would also have to be collectively bargained with the NFLPA.

Jonathan from La Crescent, MN

The last few weeks we have seen a hand to Keisean Nixon's throat, Love's head get pushed down after being tackled out of bounds in Denver, Love taking a helmet shot, and Malik Willis take a forearm to the helmet on a slide. But then Jayden Reed gets a taunting warning that will result in disqualification if done a second time. I struggle to understand why taunting is a higher priority for ejections and replay is not used on these unnecessary hits on players.

Don't forget Willis' shoulder getting crunched under Montez Sweat's body weight. Are you suggesting replay should be used to enforce safety rules? Never heard that before.

Daniel from Lakeland, FL

The contrast between a taunting call (two causes ejection from game), and the RTP (two apparently does not lead to anything more than another 15-yard penalty + first down) is apparent. Do you foresee any review of this by the NFL in the offseason?

I'm not holding my breath.

Joe from Plano, IL

Was Dennis Allen a part of the Saints coaching staff during the whole "bountygate" scandal?

In 2009, Allen was the secondary coach for New Orleans under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

Rick from Woodstock, GA

Have the officials stopped calling "forward progress"? Two examples this weekend of how it could affect a game if ignored. Jacobs is being pushed backwards and the refs allow the fumble. St. Brown is being pushed backwards, clearly, and is allowed to lateral to Goff who scores and the refs say it was good. Without the offensive PI, the Steelers lose.

I addressed this among several other topics in my mid-week chat.

Steve from Scranton, PA

Mike, one thing that stood out to me last weekend was the amount of pressure the Packers' defense generated from the interior, forcing Williams to backpedal on many of his throws. It's difficult to determine on TV, but was this predominantly the DTs stepping up, or was it from increased blitzing by the ILBs? Also, lost in all the chaos was the run-stuffing of our new DT Jordon Riley, who had a few big stops in limited snaps.

Riley made his presence felt and appears to be settling in nicely as a run-stuffer. As for the pressure, Hafley frequently was putting six or seven guys on the line of scrimmage and sending four or five, at times generating a free runner at the QB because the pass protection didn't adjust properly.

Dan from Honeoye Falls, NY

I've seen several mentions of Romeo Doubs needing to attack the ball on the onside kick. To my untrained eye, couldn't someone just as easily bobble the ball while moving towards it versus letting the ball come to them? Have never played football aside from the playground, so curious about how this is coached.

The more a funny-shaped ball bounces, the more trouble you're asking for, and being on toes vs. heels makes any secondary reaction faster.

Phil from Madison, WI

As we say in baseball, he didn't play the ball, he let the ball play him. It raised a question for me, though. What is the ruling if the kick is touched by the Packers but never controlled and goes out of bounds?

Receiving team's ball.

Nic from UK

Is batting the ball OOB on the onside kick no longer an option? Cooper Kupp famously did it from much further from the sideline. Any play can go wrong but batting a ball two yards to your left seems higher probably than catching a dribbler under duress. Unlike batting down a Hail Mary, it's not like anyone on the sideline could potentially come down with a catch.

If I understand the "batted ball" rule correctly, it's only illegal to bat the ball forward, toward the opponent's goal line. Sideways or backward it's legal.

Chase from Diamond Springs, CA

I think it's more that he had the confidence they could win straight up in OT. They had the momentum and had shown they had GB in a position where they could score TDs.

I think Johnson kicked the PAT at the end of regulation because an overtime tie would've kept the Bears in first place.

Bill from Louisburg, KS

Here is a fun fact since I am not over the Bears game yet. In 120 minutes of regulation football against the Bears this year, the Packers have never trailed.

125 minutes and 9 seconds if you include overtime, but who's counting.

Tabb from West Lafayette, IN

A lot has been covered (thank you) but perhaps the simplest path to victory last Saturday keeping all the following fumbles, penalties, and onside blunder would've been just taking the FG on that first drive, away, and with everything on the line.

Way too many folks are still hung up on the first drive of the game. I'm not saying the decision was right or wrong. It's plenty debatable to me. But with 55 minutes of football left, so many other decisions/moments/outcomes might've changed as a result and there's absolutely no way to know. Who's to say Ben Johnson doesn't also kick a field goal on the ensuing fourth-and-1 if he's down 3-0? Then it's 3-3, same as the actual 0-0. And if you want to play along with the fallacy of "everything else stays the same," then the Bears are down 19-6 facing fourth-and-4 from the Green Bay 25 with just over two minutes left, and they're going for it rather than kicking the field goal. What happens? We'll never know. Maybe they convert, score a TD, recover the onside kick, get the second TD and win in regulation, 20-19. So just let it go, please.

Scott from Hamlin, NY

"Someone has to step up." I disagree. The players trying to step up are what caused the blown coverage on fourth down. It's what caused Doubs to overthink the onside kick. Players need to do their job. They need to stick to their fundamentals and assignments and trust that everyone else will do their job. When players try to make the play, it can backfire in a big way when they miss. At this level, odds are much higher that they miss.

Fair.

David from Denver, CO

On the tying TD, I think Nixon is playing on instinct and dropping his guy thinking the ball must come out fast due to all-out blitz. Didn't anticipate Williams buying just enough time to hit the route needing time to develop. His instincts saved Game 1 and couldn't close Game 2. It hurts… but just beat the Ravens and decide approach in Week 18. Go Pack Go!

You're probably onto something there, if indeed it was Nixon who should've stayed with Walker. He covered for a teammate in Game 1 but there was nobody to cover for him in Game 2.

Steve from Stillman Valley, IL

I've noticed the teams that do a good job of scoring in the red zone do two things very well. 1. The offensive line blocks well enough that the running back doesn't get hit in his backfield and 2. The pass plays are on timing and the QB is very accurate. Some things the Packers really need to improve on?

They need to get back to that. As I outlined in my Monday story, the Packers ranked second in the league in red-zone touchdown percentage until two weeks ago. Now they're 14^th. They know what it takes to succeed in those situations and have to find it again because the season depends on it.

Kelly from Merrill, WI

Could the biggest loss for GB of that travesty on Saturday night be the gain to Caleb Williams' psyche and confidence? If Doubs had recovered that onside kick, Da Bears would have likely lost 16-9 in the biggest game of the year to this point, and CHI fans would have piled on Williams and Johnson. Now they're heroes.

The Bears are a team that has ridden belief as a powerful entity all season. Six of their 11 wins have come while trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. That's astounding. They aren't a juggernaut, but they believe, and to your point, probably got their biggest dose of belief yet last Saturday night.

Mark from Westminster, CO

Mike, I understand your "all involved" concept of blame for what happened on Saturday and that may be the case, but what concerns me most is the mental toughness just isn't there to keep wins a win versus turning them into losses. The Browns, Panthers, Eagles, Broncos, and Bears all had team mojo when it's necessary. The Packers? Appeared psychologically soft in those games. It's not the talent, it's the mindset from the top down, excluding Gutey.

When it comes to crunch time, the Packers have been Jekyll & Hyde. They've come up clutch late in wins over the Cardinals, Steelers, Giants, Lions on Thanksgiving, and first Bears game. Other games you listed, they've been outdone at crunch time by the opponent. It's not a systemic mental toughness problem or they wouldn't have nine wins. But you have to be the better team in the biggest moments to win the biggest games. We'll find out soon enough which crunch-time team will show up for the next opportunity.

Lenny from Montier, TX

Though it's not guaranteed, getting one more probably isn't going to be the problem. It's what we do with it once we get it. Mike disagreed with a reader that this team collapsed after a miscue, but I side with the reader. Unfortunately the Packers will certainly face adversity in upcoming games and I've seen enough of them getting in their own way, whoever is to blame, to believe another collapse to end the season is more likely than not. Not defeatism, just honesty based on history.

1. See above. The history this season goes both ways. 2. I was the one who said the Packers collapsed. The reader said they surrendered, and I disagreed. I did not see surrender and thought it was important to distinguish.

Zach from Waupun, WI

We're not victims. The Rams were up 30-14 on the Seahawks in the fourth quarter and found a way to lose. You dust yourself off and get back at it.

And the Ravens were just up 24-13 on the Patriots in the fourth quarter and let it get away, putting their backs against the wall. They will be playing for everything Saturday night.

Gary from Port Washington, WI

Wes and Mike, hello! Too often this season, the agony of defeat has erased the thrills of victory. What's frustrating is I can't see any loss this year that the Packers couldn't have turned into a victory. I guess my question is, are the Packers capable of overcoming the injuries and depressing losses to still make a season-defining run?

Are they capable? Yes. Will they? That's why we watch.

Aaron from Livermore, CA

I look at the NFC playoff teams and see no one that would take a miracle to beat. Just make the playoffs and enjoy the ride!

There are no strong favorites in either conference. There may not be many playoff spots available with two games to go, but it's wide open for all the teams that get in.

Jim from New Ulm, MN

I totally get the angst and disappointment from fans and players alike over squandering 58 minutes of excellent football. But I've got to believe that to the players/coaches in that locker room, focus this Saturday (and the next Sunday) will be achieved. A ticket to the dance requires just one more W, and these folks are pros because they excel at looking at what's in front of them, not what's behind them.

Agree wholeheartedly. Happy Christmas Eve, everybody.