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Inbox: This football team is in good hands

The goal has always been to be champions of the world, not September

QB Jordan Love
QB Jordan Love

Scott from Sauk City, WI

Richard from Greenwich gets the early nod for Insider of the Year with that stat. That's awesome. It's getting pretty remarkable that we still haven't lost a game in AT&T Stadium, as well. I'm curious if that's approaching some sort of NFL record, considering that the stadium has been open for more than 15 years!

I'm not sure where it ranks, but it's quite remarkable to go 6-0-1 in another team's stadium.

Doug from Odell, IL

What have we learned about the Packers in general in the first four weeks of the season?

Jordan Love is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and not enough people are saying it, particularly in the fanbase. If the statistics aren't good enough for you, consider how Love has played in each of the first four games. Opponents locked in on the run in Weeks 1-2, so Love won through the air. He controlled the game in Cleveland, made a regrettable mistake (his only INT to date) but rallied to put the offense in position for a makeable game-winning field goal. The Packers' defense had a rough night in Dallas, so he picked the unit up with arguably his best game of the year. He's doing what franchise QBs do.

Aaron from Tucson, AZ

I think I might lose it if I read another comment bagging on Jordan Love. The guy has made brilliant throws and has played tremendous football at the hardest position following two HOFers. He will only improve with experience. He's tough (see: "I'm a football player"), willful, coachable, fearless, highly talented, rarely blinks, and is "all-dedication, all-team" (like CW9). Honestly, we couldn't be in better hands at QB right now. AR12 and (especially) BF4 made numerous mistakes, also!

Love is commanding the offense, seeing the field well, executing big throws at a high clip and using his legs again. Believe in Love or don't believe in him. I'm tired of having to tell some of you what your eyes should be seeing. But know this…that locker room believes in him. Outside of one interception and holding on to the ball too long at the end of the first half Sunday, Love has played near-flawless football at a position where it's crystal clear if you're not up to the task. He is. This football team is in good hands.

Jesse from Colorado Springs, CO

I know we don't like math, but ATMR (WMBW) Jordan Love vs. Dallas was the first player in franchise history with 30-plus completions, 300-plus passing yards, three-plus TD passes, zero INTs, and 25-plus rushing yards in a single game. The Packers are 106 years old and have three HOF QBs and he's the first! Not nit-picking stats, that is pretty much every stat for a QB. He is amazing.

Well, at least Jesse gets it. That's not nothing.

Jim from Prairie du Chien, WI

On vacation in Maine, so unable to watch the replay until I get home, but I've read nothing about Dontayvion Wicks (and his bag of tricks) and Matthew Golden being side by side on the 40-plus-yard completion to Golden. Can you revisit that play for us? To my old untrained eyes, it looked like Wicks was wide open (slightly beyond Golden). I don't think they were more than five yards apart on that play. The routes couldn't have been drawn up that close together. GPG! No sky falling here!

The Packers talked about it at length this week. If I'm understanding Matt LaFleur correctly, the two ended up in the same spot because Dallas blew the coverage and Wicks instinctively went north and threw his hand up. That's also where Golden was running his deep corner, though. LaFleur called it a good teachable moment for the offense.

Jordan from Osterdock, IA

Just read Mike’s piece about LaFleur’s perspective in the defensive breakdown. While I understand the chess match of an NFL game, the end of half sequence felt like MLF overplayed the board. Up four with a whole half to go, it's hard enough to win but even tougher when you outcoach yourself. I think checkers would've sufficed.

LaFleur literally went to the podium and said that on Tuesday. Do you need a written apology or something?

Joe from Swansea, IL

How realistic is it to hope the bye week is enough to get our two injured O-lineman and Devonte Wyatt back on the field? I know baseball players can miss a month with an oblique, but then again Zach Tom isn't trying to hit a 99-mph fastball.

All I can tell you is the Packers will be healthier than they are now and hopefully will get some of these IR/PUP guys back at practice, too. The Packers must feel good about where things are with Tom, Aaron Banks and Jacob Monk, though, to let Brant Banks go earlier this week.

Green Bay Packers DL Deslin Alexandre, QB Malik Willis, WRs Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks visited patients at The Cancer Team at Emplify Health by Bellin on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025.

Al from Green Bay, WI

Wes, which game or games on this weekend slate has you the most intrigued?

San Francisco and the Los Angeles Rams is a spicy matchup, but I'm also curious which Cleveland Browns team shows up against Minnesota Sunday morning. With the move to Dillon Gabriel, the Browns are pushing all their chips into the middle on a slew of young skill-position players. I'll probably watch Cincinnati and Detroit, too – to get a look at not only the Bengals but also how they respond to the loss in Denver.

Billy from Verona, WI

I noticed on some of Dak Prescott's deep throws, Evan Williams was the deep safety instead of Xavier McKinney. Was there a specific matchup Jeff Hafley thought McKinney was better suited for closer to the line of scrimmage? I didn't get a chance to see where McKinney was by the time I saw there was a deep throw.

I didn't chart it, but my hunch is that's mostly a product of playing more single-high. McKinney typically plays more of a strong safety role with freedom to creep into the box while Williams surveys over the top.

Thomas from Oviedo, FL

I thought it was crazy when you mention that in the 1980 tie we punted three times from the Tampa 40-yard line, and two other times from midfield or better. Man, have times changed.

It's interesting how things NFL teams always knew (e.g. importance of field position, protecting the football, playing without penalties) all took on added meaning over time. It's hard to be a starting QB in today's NFL if you throw 15-plus-INTs per year now. If you're a punter, you need a 40-plus net average.

Brian from Reno, NV

I think I have the solution to the overtime problem. Both teams get the ball. The second team with the ball must outscore the first team. If the first team gets a field goal, you have to score a touchdown. If they score a touchdown, you have to score a touchdown plus the two-pointer to win. That way it is only two possessions or the first to score after the first drive. It would put a lot more strategy if you win the toss in overtime.

Both teams now possess the ball. The end. You can only tinker with something for so long before it falls apart. I'm not interested in choose-your-own-adventure overtimes.

John from Stevens Point, WI

The Packers have a great chance to bounce back vs. Cincy. They're not the same without Joe Burrow, but still dangerous. What do they need to improve to put a win on the board?

Get healthier. Correct mistakes.

Mike from Roscommon, MI

Are Packers expecting Jacob Monk to be back to play this season?

Yes. They wouldn't have designated him to return off IR if they didn't.

Ed from Auburn, NY

In looking at the October schedule, will it be a scary good month or a nightmare for the Packers?

Sure, but that applies to any year. If you poop the bed in October, you're in for a whole lotta November laundry.

Matthew from Racine, WI

How does the special teams fix the field goal issues? Especially when the defense overloads one side?

Body presence. You must extend your arms and obstruct those gaps.

Dean from Huntsville, AL

I believe the last two kickoffs ended up with Brandon McManus making the tackle. Not very special. But it looked like he was shaken up after the last one. How's he doing?

McManus got through the game OK.

Tom from Vista, CA

In a typical regular-season practice session how much time is spent on ST protection?

Like training camp, they still practice it every day.

Ryan from Ripon, WI

With the last couple weeks having kicks blocked, have there been different lineups with that unit? Are injuries really affecting it? Or is practice time not available for it?

Yes, they swapped personnel around after the block. Specifically, Green Bay inserted Elgton Jenkins. He's only played a handful of snaps in recent years. It's also pretty rare to see a center on field goal protection in Green Bay. Corey Linsley never played it and Josh Myers was rarely utilized in that capacity last year.

Matt from Kula, HI

If the key to Dak's success was getting the ball out quickly, then the obvious counter is playing very tight coverage. What caused that failure? If that's not fixed, certainly will be exploited the remainder of the season.

Did you watch how the Packers played George Pickens?

Eric from Fuquay Varina, NC

I thought in your reply that for the pass that Dak threw to the middle of nowhere, the refs must have assumed he meant to throw it to a receiver downfield. I got the same inference from the commentators when watching the game. I am flummoxed. Say it ain't so. I thought we were trying to take subjectivity out of the hands of the refs. Surely every quarterback being chased MEANT to throw it away beyond the line of scrimmage or out of bounds.

I'm guessing that's what the officials were guessing.

Rick from Woodstock, GA

Not much talk about it, but the first words out of my mouth when we scored after the two-minute warning was "we scored too early," which prophetically proved to be true. Why not run the ball once or twice, force Dallas to use up their timeouts and still have time for the touchdown? Eliminating time on the clock and helping the defense. It's a "what if," but I have seen too many games lost due to scoring too early.

I get what you're saying, but I think you have to score touchdowns when the opportunity is presented and trust your defense. Look at what happened in overtime. Green Bay wanted to score a touchdown to win the game, but it didn't happen, and it had to settle for a field goal to tie it.

Matt from Bloomington, IN

I've been reluctant to ask this question, and I hope it doesn't come off as disrespectful: Rich Bisaccia is held in high regard, and having a young team isn't a good excuse for repeated execution errors. I guess what I'm having a tough time identifying is how much of our special teams' struggles fall on the shoulders of the staff? Also, how confident should we be that the struggles get corrected before late-season and postseason football? Thank you for your thoughts.

I appreciate the tone of your question, Matt. At the end of the day, it falls on everyone. Many fans are on an endless search for scapegoats, but you can't extract a pound of flesh every time your team loses. That's not how you consistently win in this league. LaFleur chose his staff last winter because he felt it gave the Packers the best chance to win in the here and now. Good teams learn from bad outcomes and get better together. If you succumb to setbacks, then your destiny is already fulfilled. The goal has always been to be champions of the world, not September.

Samuel and Skokie, IL

When you don't answer my question, I leave the subject alone because I figure you're not interested. But I really want your take on this. I think ML is too distracted by calling the play, he doesn't have the concentration to manage game situations that are the head coach's decision. I seem to remember a coach (maybe McCarthy) giving up play-calling specifically for that reason.

And that worked out great, didn't it? Relinquishing play-calling duties is like playing your backup quarterback. It always sounds better in theory than implementation.

Steve from Dodgeville, WI

Hi Wes, Mike and II. Watched "Packers Unscripted" late Tuesday night and noticed your frustration with us fans. Please know that that it is not aimed at you. Collectively we appreciate the crazy schedule you endure and all the great content you provide. We understand that Matt LaFleur-led teams win two games for each loss and seem oh so "frustratingly" close to being special. GPG.

Last week was disappointing, but that wasn't adversity, folks. Watch what the Tennessee Titans are going through right now or New Orleans. That's adversity. Your extremely talented team lost a game you thought they should win and tied another. That's tough. I sympathize. The Packers could be 4-0 right now, but the reality is win or lose, they still must improve…in Week 6, in Week 17, Week 18, etc., to be the team you think they can be. Process over result.

Corey from Greensboro, NC

Wes, as a high school teacher and soccer coach, I just wanted you to know I caught your reference to what has arguably become the two most obnoxious numbers ever. It's in class, on the field (I even had players change their numbers so that each one could have one of the two numbers in question!) It's madness! That being said, what's your over/under on Romeo Doubs catching another 6-7 touchdowns?

I'd say that's highly probable based on his start. Let me add this – I've allowed many of you to make references to 8-8 for the past six, seven years. Well, now it's my turn.

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