David from Eau Claire, WI
Vic, what can you tell us about player grading/rating systems used by NFL teams?
They vary. Need-drafting teams weight grades according to position. BAP teams rank top to bottom according to grades, but some of those teams rank their players in grade groups. Teams have a signature way of creating their value board, but they all have one thing in common: They're not going to reveal how they do it.
Mike from Portland, OR
In the interest of not perpetuating a myth, you need to know that according to the football rules of 1911, the punting team could recover a punted football only after it touched an opposing player or touched the ground at least 20 yards past the line of scrimmage. Newspaper accounts at the time reported Thorpe as recovering his own kick and grabbing one for a 50-yard gain after booting the ball himself. Have I convinced you that most likely Jim Thorpe grabbed his punt after it hit the ground?
Does it matter? Have we reached the point of becoming so analytical that we can't have fun? More importantly, why are you threatened by the past?
Bill from Brooklyn Park, MN
Vic, on the day after the NFC Championship debacle, you were asked what you'd do with Brandon Bostick. Your response: "Teach him, develop him." Clearly Packers management disagreed.
It happens.
Brent from Baton Rouge, LA
Vic, I used to live in the UP as a kid. Great hunting and fishing. You ever get out and enjoy the north woods?
I'm enjoying the south woods right now.
Ben from New York, NY
Any new insight on what elements of the season caused the last 3:52 to be what it was for the Packers, and what the Packers would need to do this year to succeed in a similar situation?
Elements of the season had nothing to do with what happened in the final 3:52. It just happened. A switch was flipped. I don't know why.
Eric from Rensselaer, IN
Does Coach Ketchman re-sign a 31-year-old Tramon Williams, who can still play, or does he seek a younger, cheaper option in the draft?
The position needs to be addressed yearly. You need an army of cover guys in today's game, to be able to play the sub-package defenses four-wide and five-wide sets demand. You want to re-sign your guys, and Williams is an accomplished cornerback you'd love to keep, but it's important to remember that in the salary cap era you can't keep everyone. That's a fact of life in today's game. My inbox wants to re-sign all of the Packers' players and sign all of the other teams' players, too. That's nonsensical. You have to draw the line somewhere and making the right moves in free agency is all about knowing where that line is.
Tom from West Bend, WI
How did Chuck Noll play to the strength of his defense?
By diving the ball into the middle of the line on fourth-and-4 from about the Cowboys 40-yard line with about two minutes to play in Super Bowl X. Coach Noll decided he wanted to put the game into the hands of his defense. It's the worst play call I've ever seen, but it worked, which means it was a great play call.
Mitch from Plymouth, WI
Vic, do you think the Packers will re-sign Randall Cobb?
I lean toward believing the Packers will re-sign Cobb.
Terry from Gold Coast, Australia
Vic, would you please explain how players are paid?
They are paid their salary weekly during the regular season.
Joseph from Wessingtin, SD
Have you ever seen the George Carlin stand up on the first Saturday Night Live? If not, look it up. He talks about what the difference is between football and baseball back in 1975. Funny stuff.
When I was in college, one of the kids in the dorm was best friends with Carlin, and Carlin agreed to do a free performance for us in the dorm lounge. Carlin did the football/baseball routine.
Lee from Marshfield, WI
Vic, I cannot help but think the Packers are going all in for 2015. I look at the changes in the coaching staff and how we are a few players away from taking that next step on defense. I think this could be the year when Ted makes a bigger move in the draft, like in 2009.
If he does nothing more than what he's done in the draft the past two years, you'll have the drama for which you wish.
Anthony from Janesville, WI
What happens to the cap if a player does not hit his LTBE incentives?
The team receives a cap credit on its next year's cap.
Brooks from Oklahoma City, OK
Why is Brandon Bostick's release on the NFL website but not on the Packers' site?
I've explained this several times. Packers.com will not provide information on personnel moves until the Packers release that information. This is not the place to go for information on personnel moves. I can't say it anymore honestly.
Santiago from Bogota, Colombia
Vic, you have to draft between J.J. Watt, whom I believe is the best player in the league excluding QBs, and a franchise QB, who do you pick?
The franchise quarterback.
Chad from Medford, OR
What do you see happening with Nick Perry? Do you ever think he could be a starter as a standup outside linebacker? Or do you see him always being a rotational guy?
I think it's important for him to find his true position. He needs to be able to call a position and a role his own.
Dan from New Berlin, WI
What is causing you to think so highly of the Vikings heading into 2015?
I liked what I saw late in the season. They played their best football late, which means Mike Zimmer was beginning to put his stamp on that team.
Jeff from Oxford, UK
Vic, you still haven't made sense of the final 3:52.
I can't. I don't know how to explain it. That kind of stuff happens more often in today's game than it did years ago. It's a more wide-open game. Inexplicable shifts in momentum are becoming common. I saw a couple of other games in 2014 that made me scratch my head. How about the Patriots' loss to the Chiefs? Everybody had the Patriots buried. Now they're Super Bowl champs.
