Hey everybody, thanks for logging on. Happy day-before Thanksgiving to all. Go ahead and start sending in your questions and I'll get rolling shortly.

Good morning, Mike. Do roster moves have to be announced this afternoon?

Yes. Anyone being activated, or elevated from the practice squad, etc., for this game, the transaction must be on the league wire by 3 p.m. today.

If the Packers win the toss, do they take the ball?

Interesting question. It certainly worked well that way two years ago on Thanksgiving in Detroit. But this Packers team also has a very different defense that makes deferring easier to do, I believe.

Hi Mike, how does the Lions OL compare to the Vikings OL? We going to have as much opportunity for success against the Lions as we did Sunday?

The Lions OL is much better. Not all that close, really. Detroit doesn't have as much experience on the interior as they do at the tackle spots, but out on those edges that's a whale of a tandem in Decker & Sewell.

Mike any update on Lukas Van Ness… did he suffer a setback with his injury? Go Pack Go!!!

He tried to play Sunday and couldn't go. LaFleur said he wasn't where everybody thought he was as far as the injury and recovery. I wouldn't expect him to play tomorrow.

Packers LBs vs Gibbs. The Oklahoma drill is on!

Ha, it's going to be quite the battle. Packers need to get a lot of hats to the ball to tackle Gibbs. The first guy usually doesn't get that guy down.

GM Mike. Based on schedules and how the teams are playing, three teams from NFCN or from NFCW ? Only five teams will make it.

Great question. There's still too much football left to have any idea how it sorts out.

No question, Mike. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from Emma & Cambo. Cheers, my friend.

Back at you, Cambo and Emma. Enjoy the holiday.

Will the biggest challenge be for Sean Rhyan to play a clean game in that noisy environment?

Communication. He's got to make the line calls and make sure all the linemen are on the same page with assignments. In all that noise, it's definitely a challenge.

Mike...thanks for the chat...Since you and Wes apparently fly separate from the players, any special prep work ahead of arrival in Detroit? Safe..victorious travels to all!!

No. Our plane leaves a little before the bigger plane with the players, so right after I sign off from this chat I'm heading to the airport.

With LaPorta out, how will the Lions adjust? Replacing Tucker Kraft is a challenge for us.

Yeah, both teams are missing their best weapons at TE. The Lions seem to be relying more on Gibbs and St. Brown. The Packers are hoping to get more of their guys healthy (Matthew Golden, Josh Jacobs, etc.) and have more options.

Hi Spoff. This morning on Get Up they were talking about the Lions offensive variability stemming from games with drops, questionable OL play, not getting the explosive runs, errors… sound like anyone? Is the likely winner the one whose offense is "on"?

Might depend how the game looks, but I was doing a podcast segment yesterday with Lions.com writer Tim Twentyman, and he talked about how the Lions were one of the best teams in the league last year as far as fewest dropped passes. This year their drops have gone way up. Things always change year to year in this league. Gibbs is such an explosive threat at any moment, though. He's the really scary one.

Mike, do you think Green Bay at Ford Field will be a bigger challenge than going up against the Bears not long after? The Bears boast the better record but their schedule prior to this has seemed pretty light

All that matters right now is this game. Both the Bears and Packers will get extra recovery time before next week's matchup.

Morning Mike. I was glad LF kept running the ball last Sunday, but would have like to see a couple safe play-actions thrown in. Any idea if Jordan Love's shoulder will allow that tomorrow? I don't see how we can beat Detroit without keeping them guessing.

The way the Vikings game played out was due to circumstances, mainly, having a comfortable lead and the defense dominating. LaFleur will do what he feels is best to try to win the game, and I don't think the Packers can take the air out of the ball against the Lions like that. Their offense is way more capable, if the Packers build a lead, at rallying from behind.

Every week we see ticky-tack holding calls, yet Parsons constantly gets mugged and it seldom gets called. Does the league have a conspiracy against him for some reason…and can anything be done about it?

All the Packers can do is stay in communication with the league and the officials to watch for those. But folks have to remember, if a pass rusher uses a rip move that puts the blocker in a position to hold, it's not holding. The defender can't use that move to draw a holding foul.

Consensus seems to be the Packers only need to win three more games to make the playoffs. Is that acceptable given their tough schedule to finish the season?

If that's what people are surmising, more power to them. I want to see how the next couple of games play out and then the picture will start to get a little clearer.

Do you expect more jumbo with Darian Kinnard going forward? Or was a that a one-off for to trying to bleed the clock for most of the second half?

No, they're going to keep using that. That's basically Kinnard taking Kraft's spot as a run blocker. But they can also run play-action out of it, too. And they have.

If I didn't read, I would've thought #91 is a three year vet. Warren Brinson was ready for more action.

Brinson had a great game Sunday. 15 snaps and about 5 QB pressures. That's good work. He's earned himself more pass-rushing opportunities.

I think you mean DetroitLions.com ...

Yeah, sorry about that. Was trying to fix that and couldn't figure it out.

Mike, Jayden Reed is playing right?

I have no idea.

is Matthew Golden playing tomorrow?

Also dunno. The good news with Golden is the shoulder is no longer listed on the injury report, just the wrist.

Happy Thanksgiving Mike. How long does the injury that Love has "typically" take to heal?

Without knowing the degree of strain/separation he has in that left shoulder, there's no way to know. They aren't all the same.

Good morning Mike I agree do you think that Loves shoulder will affect how the game will be played tomorrow against the lions?

No. The Packers are going to do what it takes to win, which I think means throwing the ball quite a bit. They have to protect Love so he can protect that shoulder.

Watching the Vikings blitz the Lions and Gibbs struggling with that do you think Hafley will blitz quit a bit and put pressure on Goff?

Not necessarily. Normal third-down passing situations aren't always passes for the Lions because they like to run it to get close on fourth down and then go for it. So you can't just assume on third-and-8 they're throwing the ball.

Is this the game Christian Watson goes big? Fast turf, better comfort level, and a Secondary that has issues.

I think any of the GB WRs could be in for a big day. But it starts with protecting the QB.

Any news on Jacob's or Reed yet?

Haven't heard on Jacobs but the final injury report will be out in a few hours.

For sure, no 2 injuries are ever the same. Yet thought it was interesting that when Mayfield got hammered on nat'l TV and missed the rest of the game, he was lauded as being a tough competitor. Yet Love took a similar hit, returned to the game and has continued to play. His wrong-sided handoffs show he's still hurting, but no excuses or complaints.

Right. Mayfield may not have felt he could go because his injury is more severe, or they were down by so much they didn't feel the risk was worth it. Comparing those situations without knowing details is a waste of time.

Excited to see how Anthony Belton plays tomorrow! Do you think they go back to switching every series or just using Belton coming off what looked like a really promising outing by him. Love how physical he plays.

It'll be interesting. This will be his first action on the road with the silent count and all. Belton is a mauler. Big body, moves people. Could provide a nice jolt to the running game down the stretch here.

Is Spoff typing tomorrow?

Oh yes. I'll be there in the Ford Field press box.

Will you celebrate Thanksgiving Friday or did you Turkey up already…

My family is going to wait until I get back after the game. I'm anticipating walking into the kitchen at home around 7 p.m.

Happy early Thanksgiving Spoff! Hope to see our pack get a sweep on the Lions! I feel like it's been ages since we've seen us do that to them and hopefully the team we had against Minnesota shows up again as well!

The Packers haven't swept the Lions since 2020. It's been 5 years. Since the Lions won the finale in 2021 when the Packers were resting guys for the playoffs, GB has won only twice in the series -- T-giving 2 years ago, and Week 1 this year.

How do we reconcile the Lions we played at the beginning of the year with this team tomorrow?

You don't. They're a different team. So are the Packers. I listed numerous differences about this matchup in II this morning.

Belton seems to bring something to the guard position that reminds me of an early Elgton Jenkins. Didn't get to see him pass block much, though. How did he look to you, and do you think the rotation at guard is over (or at least, going to be reduced)?

We'll see. Belton playing the whole second half vs. Minnesota would indicate the coaches are leaning toward him taking over, but that hasn't been announced or anything. You're right, he didn't have to pass block much against the Vikings. It'll be different tomorrow.

Happy Turkey Family Day, Mike. What are the chances that the D is able to do what they did last week to the Vikings and contain Gibbs?

Just preventing multiple explosives from Gibbs would be a huge accomplishment. He's a much bigger part of their offense now than he was in Week 1. You can't look for the defense to do to the Lions what they did to the Vikings. Goff is not McCarthy. Apples and orangutans.

Has Carrington Valentine locked down a corner spot? Can Keisean Nixon go? Is Kamal Hadden a better option at this point than Nate Hobbs, who is recovering from a knee injury?

Nixon is trending in the right direction from what we've been told, but we'll see. Valentine is a full-time player now. I don't see that changing. If Hobbs is available to provide another depth option along with Hadden that would be a plus, but after about a month off I don't see Hobbs playing 50 snaps all of a sudden or anything.

Hafley said he wants to get Goff off his spot, whether it takes 4,5, or 6.

Right. That's what you have to do, and the best way is with interior pressure. Their best pass blockers are the tackles. I could see Micah Parsons attacking the middle a fair amount tomorrow, but the Lions could counter by pitching outside to Gibbs on third down to see if he can break one or at least get close for fourth down, like I said before. It's a different chess match against this team.

Mike, can you just go ahead and tell us the 48-man roster for tomorrow?

Ha, we will be learning a lot at 10:30 a.m. CT when the inactives are announced.

The good food can wait, right Mike?

I will be looking forward to it, hopefully sitting down to celebrate a victory.

I read on article that said Emanuel Wilson had 100 of his 107 yards after contact, and another said 94. Regardless, that was very impressive.

No doubt. The Packers actually had too many missed blocks against the Vikings, but other players still made things happen. That's not how you want to live. They still need to play cleaner football. The penalties and drops have subsided, now sharpen up the rest.

What concerns you the most regarding the Packers going into this game?

Gibbs and Hutchinson. Those are the guys who can take over if you let them. The Packers can't let that happen.

If Kinnard is an extra blocker on running plays, what's the point of reporting as an eligible receiver all the time when the defense knows he's not going to catch a pass? Just line up wideouts the normal way?

If you're lining up in an eligible position with an ineligible number, it's required to report to the official.

A little nervous about Belton playing in a loud dome. Seem to recall a forgettable game where he had 3 or 4 penalties including pre-snap.

Yeah, that was in Indy during the preseason. What I liked about that whole scenario is the coaches put him right back out there in the second half, he settled down and played well. We learned a lot about Belton that day.

Goff will put the ball up like Winston (NYG) did a few weeks ago. The Secondary (banged up?) needs to take advantage of those opportunities.

I don't see it that way. I see Goff getting rid of the ball right quick anytime he can. He doesn't take many sacks. If his early read isn't there, he'll find his checkdown and let someone try to find open space. He's a totally different QB from Winston.

I think the key to the game tomorrow is scoring first. I feel the team that does that will win. I hope that if the packers win the toss they take the ball.

I'm always inclined to defer. But that's just me.

The Lions aren't the Vikings but we sure looked like a lot of things got cleaned up Sunday. A wise man once warned us about full consistency but did we really turn a corner or was it more the opponent?

Some of both. The Packers played well, very few mistakes. But the Vikings also aren't built with a young QB to play from behind, and once that turnover on the punt happened and the Packers punched it in for a 17-6 lead, that game was basically over.

I realize the situation dictated it last week, but would another slower game script benefit the packers? Still not a ton of weapons to throw to IMO

I suspect the Lions will be wanting to control the ball more in this one after their defense was on the field for 77 snaps, including OT, on Sunday.

I am heading to the game from Atlanta. Any insight on the typical Lions crowd vs opposing teams (mostly good natured) fans?

Couldn't really tell you. I know the Thanksgiving crowd at Ford Field always brings it, though. That city loves the tradition of this game.

When Jacobs is back at full strength, do you expect Wilson to continue to get meaningful snaps?

Absolutely.

Mike….I think sometimes fans forget that a team progresses (or regresses) throughout the season. You've gotta stack some wins early, but get healthy and be playing your best late. It's getting to be that time!

Indeed it is. The NFC North is tight. As mentioned previously, the NFC West is loaded too. There's no cruise control in the ride to a playoff spot.

I know that we are going up against a good team, and a coach that like to go for it on 4th down. What do you think for the coaching for the Packers need to change.

Hafley talked yesterday about how you have to call a game differently against the Lions because of their fourth-down tendencies. Third and 7 is more like second and 7. There's a shift, and they keep you on your toes all four quarters. Heck, two years ago they faked a punt on their own 25-yard line in this game.

Reed I don't think has been added to the 53. Is that correct?

Correct. Not yet. He'll have to be added by 3 p.m. today in order to play tomorrow. If he's not activated, then his debut will probably be next week vs. Chicago.

I'm quite interested to see how round 2 of Parsons vs Sewell goes. I have an inkling he will be looking to quiet the crowd early and hopefully often.

For sure, and Parsons is going to play a lot more snaps in this game than he did in Week 1, too.

I hope we open our first series with a long ball to Watson. That will set the tone if they can execute just like last year.

I have a feeling the Lions will be ready for that. I like sending Watson deep and then hitting the intermediate route underneath him.

Feels like some of our play calling is us playing not to lose instead of playing to win. What do you see in the future as far as play calling duties and will we begin to let Love loose a bit more?

People are spending way too much energy on play calling and supposed motivations. The Packers are playing to win. Play calls must be executed. Sure, some calls are better than others, but any call that's made and blocks are missed is going to look terrible. There's way too much discussion in the media world about play calling. It's nauseating.

I always hear about getting healthy but injuries are as much of a part of this game as playing offense and defense are. The Packers will get guys back but others will go down. How you deal with that is the key.

Always is.

The bar was set high in the first two games, with a bit of regression since then. The lions got our best in game 1. Given the injuries for both teams, Do the Packers have the offensive weapons to duplicate that in game 2?

You can't try to duplicate anything. This will be a totally different game. I expect the Packers to have to be the better team at crunch time in order to win.

From your vantage point, what are the top two or three things you've seen improve from J-Love from last year to now?

He continues to get more and more confident with his reads, in my opinion. He sees and knows the coverages, he knows where the one-on-one opps are, and he knows where he has a chance to make a play against the blitz.

We're always hyping up the home field advantage at Lambeau, but I always felt more comfortable with Rodgers in a dome. Love has had some good dome games early in his career so far.

I haven't seen him get rattled by a road environment. He's a pretty cool customer out there.

The defense needs turnovers, but we need to score points on them. I think we have like 6 INT's so far this year with zero return yards, so how about a pick 6?

Sign me up. It seems like this defense is due.

Weaknesses in the Lions defense?

They will give up passing yards if you protect the QB. Kerby Joseph isn't playing in this game. That's a big loss for them. Downfield strikes will be there, and the Packers have to hit them.

Bring us a W, Mike. And if you do, I expect to see video of you and Wes leading a full plane with a rousing rendition of..."In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight" At least Wes singing We-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e.....

Ha, I don't know about that. I'm constantly working on the flights home. So is Wes.

Hi Mike… Larry seems like the guy you'd run into at your local watering hole and have a beer with and some good conversation…is that the case…

For sure.

That week 1 game means nothing right now. I believe that was a perfect storm and nobody was beating Green Bay that day. Detroit will not be caught off guard this time so they need to be ready for Detroits best shot.

Indeed. The Parsons trade gave the Packers a jolt, and the Lions weren't prepared for him. They were also adjusting to two new coordinators and a new interior of the O-line. That game was ages ago in the NFL world.

The rumor has it that Reed is expected to be back this week. If the rumor in fact is true, do you anticipate he be on a "snap-count"? Given the Packers' conservative approach in the past, I would expect he gets limited snaps.

If he's activated, I don't see him playing 50 snaps right away if that's what you're asking.

Hi, Mike, thanks for all the hard and good work. Is there anything the Packers could do so the referees start calling those obvious holding penalties they're making on Parsons?! My goodness…

To Parsons' credit, he never complains. He just keeps coming after you.

Its not who you play, but when you play them in this league.

So true. All right, with that I'd better get packed up and head to the airport. Thanks for the conversation and have a Happy Thanksgiving everybody. I'll be back on this platform tomorrow from Detroit. Take care, Spoff