It's taken in stages

Dan from Twin Lakes, WI I don't have any friends. Can I ask a question anyway? Someone be Dan’s friend, please. He needs a happy Monday. Corey from Whitehall, PA Kenny Clark, Josh Jones, Clinton-Dix, Dean Lowry, Blake Martinez, Kevin King, and Damarious Randall are all 25 or younger and most of them have already made a big impact on the team. How great will our defense be if/when they peak at the same time? Would we owe TT an apology? Getting everyone to peak at the same time isn’t realistic, but it’s clear the Packers’ defense is not what it can be. The players you mentioned need to stay healthy and be pushed by in-house competition. Then we’ll see where things stand. Mark from Minot, ND It’s a known fact Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson have probably the best QB/WR chemistry in the league when healthy, so why would Green Bay even think of letting Nelson go? **Is it a known fact Green Bay is thinking that?* Ryan from Coeur d’Alene, ID I believe the biggest off-season statement that Gute would make for me is for him to do nothing. Jordy had always been labeled as underpaid. Then came his last contract where he could have cashed in. Even though it was big it was still considered team-friendly. Jordy has given so much to the Packers. If he is not asked to restructure his last year Gute will have done the most for me by doing nothing. If Nelson wants to play for the Packers beyond 2018, a restructure could benefit both sides, helping Green Bay’s cap this year and Nelson beyond. Both sides have options here, depending on everyone’s wishes, which I can’t pretend to know. Nicholas from Portland, OR With respect to our defense, do we need to get better guys, our do we need to just get our guys to play better? Some of both. Gary from Sheboygan, WI The Wolf draft model was to draft down for more picks based on a need for more bodies. Thompson had a tendency to follow that example even though there was not that great a need of quantity over quality. I hope Gute goes for quality over quantity. No one ever wants to sacrifice quality, but quality in the draft often comes from having adequate quantity of opportunity to find it. Joseph from East Moline, IL I’m glad to see the Jags gave their guy a deal versus breaking the bank on a free agent. The guy is young and played what seemed to me to be his best football on the biggest and new stages against really good teams on the road. And had it not been for a premature whistle or a slightly overrun route, who knows. Yeah, he had a great defense this year, but Bortles was relied on to win games in the postseason. And now maybe they have some extra cash to give it another shot a few more years. Very true, but Mark Sanchez made it to a pair of AFC title games as well with similar Jets teams. I don’t watch the Jaguars on a regular basis, so I don’t know what they have in Bortles. You never know. Andy from Appleton, WI Mike, your response to Ross from Hayward that "when you win, writers say what you want to hear" begs this question: Do you have a boss? If so, you both should be fired for allowing your flippant and Trumpian response to be printed. Journalistic malpractice at its worst. OK. Hannes from Natternbach, Austria With the compensatory pick formula being too complex for the normal fan and beat writer, are the team's personnel departments able to calculate which picks they will receive before the league announces them? *They have some idea like the rest of us, but they don’t know for sure. They find out about a month earlier than they used to, so that helps. I think the league moved up the notification because the picks can be traded now.** Jon from Bloomfield, NJ Hey Mike, can you and Wes grab a couple beers and have your lunch in the bowl? That'd be a pretty nice perk of working at Lambeau, if allowed. It’s a tad cool for picnics at the moment. Steve from Middletown, KY I think we will inevitably sign some of our FAs. By any means, I can't possibly imagine that we will let them all walk. So, when do you think it will all start? Do you think the dam will break closer to March 14? Because the Packers took care of their two largest priorities last December, the others could see what’s out there before deciding on their futures. Not everything will be settled within the next couple of weeks. Tom from Charlotte, NC I know that most teams use some type of formula to calculate what combinations of multiple draft picks are worth. How high in the draft do you think the Packers could pick if they were willing to trade their first two picks (Nos. 14 and 45)? Could that combination get them inside the top five? Not likely. Most draft trade charts peg that combination between Nos. 6 and 9. David from Cable, WI My pet peeve is all the writers who think activity and controversy are better than success on the field. They just want something to happen. Yet when they act it is often proactive. Adams and Linsley signings. I am not bored. Why are they? Because their traffic numbers are down? Chris from Lexington, KY With two years left on Rodgers' contract, what's either side's motivation to restructure now vs. next year or even the year after? Rodgers stands to make more money the longer he waits and the Pack get another year or two at a lower price. From the Packers’ perspective, the longer they wait, the closer Rodgers gets to free agency and the greater the incentive for him to test the waters. If you want to keep your franchise QB around, you make it worth his while to surrender that possibility. Michael from OregonNot only did they trade up to get Jamal Reynolds, didn't they trade Matt Hasselbeck and a pick that turned out to be All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson? Not only that but to address the failure of Reynolds they signed Joe Johnson to a huge free-agent contract and got nothing out of him. (There is a question in there). It wasn’t pretty. Michael from DeForest, WI Hi guys, like many others, I really like what Vic did with this format and how you guys have continued it. The one comment Vic made that I totally disagreed with was how the NFL would have a 6,000-yard passer sooner than later. I sent a few comments/question to no avail. A few reasons with the biggest probably that it would take 375 yards per game to get there. I know around 5,500 is the record, but do either of you believe we will see 6,000, barring increase in regular-season games? Thanks. We just saw 505 passing yards by one QB and 874 by both in the Super Bowl. I do believe 6,000 will happen at some point. Jeff from Milwaukee, WI You have the Pack getting a D-7 from Buffalo for a trade in 2016. The NFL has Buffalo's pick in the seventh going to Carolina. What's the real story? Two different trades. Buffalo had acquired an additional seventh-round pick from the Chargers in a trade last summer. That’s the pick that went to Carolina in the Kelvin Benjamin deal. I believe the Packers are getting Buffalo’s original seventh-rounder. Chaston from Las Vegas, NV The Packers have 12 draft picks this year. Let's assume they make a small FA signing or two and maybe an additional player or two makes the 53-man roster from previous year’s practice squad (like Reggie Gilbert) or a 2018 UDFA. There is not going to be room for all 12 players to make the roster. Does it make sense to trade up for fewer but more valuable picks just so we don't lose value from drafting players like Malachi Dupre, who end up on another roster just from a numbers game? A lot of readers are wondering about this. I don’t think the GM concerns himself with how many of his draft picks are going to make the team. It’s taken in stages, and the first stage is to build the most competitive 90-man roster possible. McCarthy says that all the time. Then you go about picking the best 53 through camp and the preseason. You don’t pick the 53 in the spring or even early summer. Players will get hurt. Others will underperform. The more difficult the decisions are at the end, the better you’ve done your job. Nate from Marion, OH I love how fast Mike Daniels backed up our running backs when they said to get Aaron Rodgers a running back. When you’re overlooked as a young, mid-round draft pick, you know how it feels. Kurt from Elba, MN I know Aaron likes running the up-tempo offense, but wouldn’t it make more sense to slow everything down and make sure we get that all important first down, and then kick in the hurry-up? That makes sure that our defense gets to catch their breath. There are different reasons for going to the no-huddle. Maybe the offense needs a spark or jolt of energy. Or you’ve caught the defense in a matchup you like (personnel group vs. personnel group) and you don’t want them to be able to sub out of it. Joe from Pittsburgh, PA With all the justifiable excitement over the Jerry Kramer induction, I was wondering if there has ever been a team have its entire backfield enshrined as the Packers’ Starr, Taylor and Hornung were so honored. Am I missing some other stellar group? I believe the only other one is the 49ers of the 1950s, with QB Y.A. Tittle, halfback Hugh McElhenny and fullback Joe Perry. Aaron from Dallas, TX About the coin flipping for draft positioning, I read a coin will be made with both teams’ logos. Does the NFL press their own coins? Also who gets the coin when it’s done, the winning team? What if the losing team ends up with a HOFer and the winner a bust? Have you ever heard of a losing team asking for the coin as a momentum? Serious questions that need serious answers. **Those are answers I don’t have, but I think it would be cool if the winning team gave the coin to the players it picks.** Ross from Hudson, WI Which second-year player to take the hoped-for sophomore jump would have the biggest impact on the win-loss column? I am torn between Aaron Jones and Kevin King. Is it too much to hope for both? Not at all, not with the talent those two displayed as rookies. Sam from Eau Claire, WI Chris from CT asked a question the other day about your favorite part of the season. Is there a part of the season from after the Super Bowl to right before training camp that you guys enjoy covering more than the others (combine, free agency, draft, OTAs, etc.)? I know I get pretty pumped up for the draft but I'm a fan, what about you guys? The draft is far and away the offseason event. It’s the most important and the most intriguing to cover. The combine helps get us ready, so that’s where Wes, Larry and I, along with our video production guys, are headed tomorrow. We’ll be in touch, often, from Indy. HAVE A QUESTION?