Megan from Quincy, IL
Have a great week!
You, too.
Eric from Reedsburg, WI
Are you a fan of the pumped-in crowd noise for baseball games?
I'll decide when I start watching games next weekend.
Jim from Woodbury, MN
So, what are the college scouts instructed to do during all of this? Are they still in wait-and-see mode?
Good question. As soon as college programs start practicing, the scouts will be making their rounds. There are still people to talk to and background work to do whether or not there are games to watch.
Bill from Lenexa, KS
Mike, it was reported that the GB rookies are to report on the Tuesday, the 21st. Is that going to happen? And can the QBs report as well?
Rookies on Tuesday, quarterbacks and injured players Thursday, and everyone else on the 28th. That's where we are until told differently.
Eric from Honolulu, HI
Which one of the undrafted rookies has the best chance to make an impact on the team?
I have absolutely no idea. I haven't met any of them or seen a single one run a drill. It's 2011 all over again as far as any gauge on the UDFA class.
Scott from Grovetown, GA
It's very telling when NFL players have a take to social media in a blitz to show that not even they are completely informed on how the season might progress. How are we to expect members of the media, you guys included, to inform fans if players don't even know? It's a mess. I've already bought tickets to three games this year, including flights to two of them, and it would be nice to know if I'm going or not. It seems frustration is being felt by everyone involved at all levels.
I said a few weeks ago the two sides have a lot to work out, and that hasn't changed. I could do without the PR bonanzas on both sides. The NFL issued a statement Saturday night saying training camps are "on" for July 28. It was a PR move. The players came back with their social media blitz on Sunday because there's still a lot unresolved and they're making it known they won't be forced into anything when there's still time to negotiate. The message from both sides should just be, "We're working on it." That's all. Let's keep it real, and keep them talking.
Ron from Bethesda, MD
Are the Packers practicing to adapt to no crowd noise?
The Packers last held a practice on Friday, Jan. 17, so not yet.
Chuck from Gold Canyon, AZ
This week marks the return of the first of the four major sports. In looking at the relatively low number of MLB players who tested positive with most of them now clearing by having two consecutive negative tests, do you see this as a positive sign that we may see football this September with proper protocols in place? It sure will be nice to see some action.
I don't think any comparisons with baseball are valid. Different sport, different structure, vastly different numbers of individuals involved. I think the NFL will get its season started. I think the first real barometer will come after Week 1, after dozens of players have been smashing into each other for three hours, and another round of tests is taken. One false negative to the wrong player at the wrong time has a chance to torpedo an entire team or two. That's the potential nightmare.
George from Olympia, WA
How many tight ends are we going to keep?
I'm guessing four.
Jeff from Belton, TX
How much of a hit will the Packers take this year if there are zero to limited fans? Does it matter or do we get most of our money from the NFL TV deals? Feel sorry for all of the seasonal workers and property owners who make extra money during game days. The city is going to lose a lot of money with zero to limited fans.
Mark Murphy has said in the past that the national TV money essentially pays the players' salaries, which is by far the largest single expense. So if all the games are played and televised, the economic hit to the organization will be manageable, regardless of tickets sold. The community's economic loss would be indescribably more significant.
Hansen from Waukesha, WI
Saturday's Inbox discussed the best quarterback matchups in Super Bowl history, but how could Collins-Dilfer in Super Bowl XXXV be omitted from the list Spoff gave?
I wasn't asked for the list on which that matchup would reside.
Brandon from Omaha, NE
I recently had a conversation with a Vikings fan about the greatest QB seasons ever and he likes to bring up that Aaron Rodgers hasn't ever had a 5,000-yard or 50-TD season. He also likes to forget that Rodgers likely would have reached those numbers in 2011 had he not sat Week 17. Add Flynn's numbers from that game to Rodgers season stat line and he would've finished with 5,123 yards, 51 TDs and seven INTs. Do you think that would be regarded as the greatest single season for a QB in NFL history?
Rodgers' 122.5 passer rating in 2011 is the highest ever in one season, so you tell me. Playing along with Flynn's numbers, Rodgers' season rating would have gone up to 124.1. From a pure numbers standpoint, it's hard to argue with Peyton Manning's records of 5,477 yards and 55 TDs in 2013 (his rating was 115.1). I prefer to give every record its place.
Mike from Rockport, TX
Your list of the best "silencing the crowd" responding to David from Rio Rancho was great, but I have an additional nominee. I was in Dallas for the Mason Crosby winning kick. I was also there the following season when the Cowboy crowd went wild when Dak scored the go-ahead TD with just over a minute left. Within moments the Cowboy crowd got very quiet recalling Rodgers had won the playoff game months earlier with far less time and fewer timeouts. The Packers fans knew too. Is this a worthy add?
Indubitably.
Barbara from Jackson, WI
I'm hoping you will clarify the rules for when the coach challenges a call. I was re-watching the Seattle game and early on Seattle fumbled. The play was initially called down by contact and LaFleur challenged that there was a fumble. Upon review, the officials agreed it was a fumble, but they could not determine a clear recovery by the Packers. We lost our timeout. But ... we were right – there was a fumble. Not all challenges result in a change of possession. Why the loss of timeout?
Because the call was not reversed. The ruling on the field stood – Seattle ball – because a clear recovery was not determined (apparently). In challenging the call, the Packers are declaring there was a fumble and they recovered it (otherwise, why challenge?). If that's not the final ruling, your challenge was not upheld, and you lose a timeout.
Justin from Los Angeles, CA
The comment about Don Hutson's 29 points in a quarter, set in 1945, got me wondering what records that are still standing go back the farthest. I didn't do the full deep dive, but in scoring there are six records that were set in the 1940's that are still going...every one by Don. Extraordinary.
As I said last week, he was playing a different game than everyone else.
Ryan from Manchester, England
Do you think Matt Flynn's monster day with Philbin as play caller influenced McCarthy's decision to turn over play calling – assuming I'm not getting the chronology wrong? Or is one game unlikely to have played a role?
McCarthy didn't relinquish the play calling until four years later.
Chuck from Santa Ana, CA
Enjoyed the article on Earl Gillespie. As a boy, I used to cut his grass (with a reel mower no less). Of course I would have done it for free, but I got paid a couple of bucks. Every once in a while, he would sit in a lawn chair in the back yard and "announce" his son's (Johnny) "games" with three or four of the kids in the neighborhood. What a thrill to hear him in person … "fidgety Lew Burdette toes the rubber, here's the pitch … "
I have to try a reel mower sometime. I've been intrigued ever since I saw one as a kid on "The Brady Bunch" being used to cut their artificial grass.
Clifford from Brockport, NY
While everyone obviously knows of the "Ice Bowl," I wonder how many remember Oct. 15, 1984.
I sure do. Monday Night Football on my 12th birthday. I guess it's referred to as the "Broncos Blizzard" out in Denver. Has to be the fastest 14 points ever scored to start a game, right? Two Green Bay fumbles both returned for TDs in a total of 37 seconds. I went to bed figuring, "Oh, well." To find out the next day the Packers made a game of it and actually had a chance to win it late blew me away.
Storm from Houston, TX
For Mike, I need insights on your thoughts on the re-boot of "Fletch."
Chevy Chase is the only true Irwin M. Fletcher. But I'm willing to be entertained by an impostor. It's simply a continuation of the overall theme, is it not?
Nate from West Salem, WI
I was at the 2010 Atlanta playoff game! Nosebleeds, of course, and as soon as Matt Ryan cocked his arm to throw I knew it was a pick-six and the game was over. From that high up we could see Tramon start to break on the ball before Ryan hit the top of his drop-back. And when he was racing down the sidelines for the score, it was palpable that everyone in the stadium knew that game was over.
It was the moment in that run I first allowed myself to think about the Super Bowl. It's the only time I've done so prior to an NFC title game.
Matt from Waunakee, WI
Rodgers and Cobb had a couple of nice silence-the-crowd moments in Chicago. Raji had one, too.
On the list for sure.
Dennis from Appleton, WI
Questions regarding readers' submitted comments to Insiders Inbox: Once received, are they deleted if not selected for that day's II? What are the most commented on or asked topics? How do you not duplicate your responses due to the sheer volume of material received?
Submissions are re-directed to both me and Wes, so we each maintain our own Inbox. We generally don't answer the same question from the same reader unless it's on purpose to make a particular point.
Geoffrey from Rosemount, MN
If there is a top 10 for CB tandems I'd say there is a good chance that Jaire Alexander/Kevin King can crack top five if healthy.
They might be on the verge. The top five might be a tad ambitious but not out of the question.
Bill from Forest Park, OH
The correct answer to how the Packers deal with drones at the practice field is, of course, LASERS!
Wes is back tomorrow. Happy Monday.
