Inbox: It's about fast guys who can play

[Cheesehead]

Eric from Stramproy, Netherlands


So Mike, "optimism with expectations" next season?


Ha. I'll have to give it some thought. I think it's fair to expect this team to be a contender next year, but in this crazy league I don't like going beyond that.


Wayne from Prescott Valley, AZ


What will the Packers focus on in the 2020 draft?


Finding good players. Wow, it only took five days after the end of the season to recycle that one.


Chris from Mankato, MN


I understand that free agency doesn't start until March 18. Are the Packers able to re-sign their UFAs between season's end and the start of free agency? It'd be nice to not have outside pressure from other teams trying to steal your guys.


Teams have exclusive negotiating rights with their own free agents right now, but at this point, many players are inclined to see what the market might bear before making any decisions.


Bill from Menominee, MI


This may get beat to death in the near future, but here it goes. Does the franchise tag appear to line up as a viable option with any of the Packers' pending free agents? I understand players don't care for it, but the NFLPA did agree to it.


I wouldn't anticipate the Packers using the franchise tag this year, but the one possibility I might allow for would be Crosby.


Mike from Rockport, TX


Has there ever been a lower combined total of wins in the prior season between the two teams in a conference championship than the Packers' and Niners' total of last season?


I hung onto this question for several days because I needed time to research it. The GB-SF combined win total from '18 was 10. Since the current playoff format was instituted in 1990 (six seeds per conference), I could only find one other instance of a conference title game pitting two teams with a prior-year combined win total as low – 1996, AFC, New England (6-10 in '95) vs. Jacksonville (4-12). Individually, New Orleans in '06 (3-13 in '05) and Jacksonville in '17 (3-13 in '16) had the fewest wins of teams that came one game away the following year.


Mike from Atlanta, GA


Seeds sprout fast against losers. Ignorance is bliss! 13-3 against losers. Big deal. The way you guys try 'n paint a pretty picture is hilarious.


Glad you're entertained. But your incessant submissions with the "losers" take are what embody ignorance. Did you know only 13 of the 32 teams in the NFL finished with winning records this year? That means 60 percent of the league is "losers," so I don't know what you want a team to build its record on. Of the 13, a dozen made the playoffs, of course. Their wins in the regular season against teams that finished with winning records: Baltimore 6, San Francisco 5, Seattle 4, Green Bay 3, New Orleans 3, New England 3, Kansas City 3, Houston 3, Tennessee 2, Philadelphia 2, Buffalo 1, Minnesota 1. If you're averse to fact-based analysis, I struggle to understand why you'd read anything I have to say.


David from Janesville, WI


Gents, multiple times in the NFC Championship Game I heard Troy mention how a receiver was open early but for whatever reason Rodgers didn't immediately make the throw and the defense closed up the coverage. I seem to recall several of these over the course of the year. The offense needs to take advantage of those fleeting moments rather than throwing the ball away. Do you think the hesitation is Rodgers still getting used to the offense? Not wanting to risk throwing into the tight window? Both?


It's too easy to watch from above, or view the film later, and say this or that guy was open. Plays have reads and progressions, and I don't like to pretend I know what Rodgers sees or doesn't see and when. I do know he can't have eyes on the entire field at once. If guys later in the progression are open early in the play, that's something the coaches upstairs have to point out for when the play is called next time. Or it's studied in the film room to tweak the call for the next game.


Margeaux from Tallahassee, FL


If I remember correctly by the end of the 2018 season EQ had moved ahead of MVS on the depth chart. How has he been progressing in his rehab? He seems to be a potential upgrade in the WR room.


We've had no updates on St. Brown. We'll see if Gutekunst provides one later today. Otherwise, we probably won't know anything until April.


Mike from Glenwood, IL


The trouble I have now that we are in the offseason, I feel the jump to 13-3 has artificially inflated expectations for next year. When you take some time and look at the numbers, this was an 8-8 or 9-7 team that got to 13-3. This team had an extraordinary run of health and they had an extraordinary record in those 50/50 games. I feel as a result, the 13-3 was a bit fraudulent. I feel this team probably will be a better team in 2020 but almost assuredly have a worse record.


That's a very distinct possibility. The 2014 team, for example, was superior to this one and went 12-4. Every year is its own entity. Half of the road schedule next season is against playoff teams (Minnesota, Houston, New Orleans, San Francisco) and the AFC runner-up (Tennessee) is coming to Lambeau. You play 'em as they come. Fraudulent or not, all the matters if you get to the postseason dance is what you do when the music starts, whether you're the 13-3 Saints or 9-7 Titans.