Inbox: More important is how they bounce back

[Cheesehead]

Matt from East Troy, WI


Mike, did you score your own game at the Brewers outing?


Always do.


Steve from Middletown, KY


Last year, Jaire obviously had the most confidence out of all the rookies heading into the season. Do any of this year's rookies stand out the same way, or which one seems to be the most confident?


Alexander has a personality all his own, so it isn’t fair to compare. This rookie class in general struck me as more quiet and reserved. We’ll see if that changes. Either way, it doesn’t mean the players aren’t confident. More important is how they bounce back from their “welcome to the NFL” moment, because they’ll all have one.


Jim from Medford, WI


I don't get why people want to change the schedule. Personally I like the years we get five (preseason games) when we play the HOF game. It seems to me they need at least four games to be ready and then they come out a bit rusty anyway. Is it injuries? If a player gets hurt in preseason, changing that game to a regular-season game doesn't change the fact that he got injured. Help me understand the thinking.


It’s not about injuries. Tons of starters are held out or play very limited snaps in preseason anyway. In part for that reason, preseason games are a substandard NFL product, and the owners want to reduce bad product and add good product, because more good product will mean higher revenues, TV rights fees, etc. From their perspective, that’s the motivation.


Lenny from Rexdale, Ontario


Gentlemen, I personally think the regular-season format (number of games and playoff formula) is fabulous and should not be changed. In regards to the number of preseason games: Do they even generate a sufficient amount of revenue to dissuade the removal of one or more of them?


Preseason tickets are part of a season-ticket package, so the owners are making money on those games even when people don’t show up. If they do, all the better. But I don’t see the owners budging from 20 total games. They want to replace, not remove.


Nate from Naples, FL


In a 3-17 season split with one neutral-site game, I’d imagine teams would alternate between one and two home preseason games per season. I’m curious how they would divide the gate for the neutral-site game. Assuming the money was split 50/50, do you think owners would really see more profits from half a regular-season game in a place like Lincoln, Neb., than they would from a preseason game in front of their own fan base? Sure, there’d be some more TV money, but it doesn’t sound like windfall to me.


Right now, each team is getting somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 million per year from TV rights fees. An oversimplified math extrapolation means another week of TV games would add between $14 and $15 million per team, every year, not including the actual gate/game revenue split, versus losing one game of preseason revenue every two years. I don’t think there’s any comparison, frankly.


Ryan from Noblesville, IN


When taking a break from work, maybe to clear your mind, where is your favorite place to go or sit?


Once in a great while I’ll just hop up to fourth floor and take a look at Paul Hornung’s Heisman Trophy near the Legends Club. There’s something about it. I’m no expert on the Lombardi ’60s nor a huge Notre Dame fan, but it’s definitely my favorite piece of non-NFL history on display in the entire building.


Dean from Leavenworth, IN


To me the first month of the season will provide a huge opportunity to get off to a fast start and establish this team as legitimate SB contenders, or, it might be a dark hole from which the Packers will be struggling to extricate themselves for the rest of the season. Which is it and what clues should we look for in camp and the preseason to tell us the answer? Also, English was NOT my best subject, so I hope you grade on a generous curve.


Your English is more than acceptable, Dean. I hate to break it to everyone, but we won’t find the answer to your question during camp or the preseason. Those are for preparing to play and selecting the best roster. There’s no way to know if the Packers are or aren’t ready to beat the Bears and/or Vikings until the games are played.


Matt from Waukesha, WI


Yesterday you mentioned Rodgers expecting the receivers to read defenses the same as him. When reviewing film for upcoming games, do the receivers and QBs go through film together so they can point out different tendencies they are seeing from opposing players?


Indubitably.