Inbox: No one was apologizing for it

[Cheesehead]

Jim from McLean, VA


Hi Mike! Did you see the tweet by T.J. Lang? Hilarious story! I agree that the networks would have to bleep some on-field chatter if the NFL plays to empty stadiums.


Indubitably.


Paul from Northglenn, CO


Curious, can you provide the contractual differences of the Christian Kirksey and Martinez deals?


Martinez got three years, $30.75M with $19M guaranteed. Kirksey got two years, $13M (incentivized to $16M) with $4M guaranteed.


Keith from Indianapolis, IN


Let's start the Packers' revitalization story watching the hated Bears win the 1985 season Super Bowl and then going on to the 1986 (4-12) season after which they drafted Don Majkowski in the 10th round. I feel that was an important pick and he provided me as a young kid with hope for a franchise comeback. His 1989 season was amazing and it signaled the comeback with the first victory against the Bears since 1984. Do you feel that The Majik Man started the upward trend? I do.


With all due respect to Majkowski, whose '89 season was outstanding, no. He couldn't stay healthy in '90 or '91, and the Packers went 4-12 in games started by other QBs those two years. Then Majkowski was 0-2 in '92 when he got hurt again in Week 3 and Favre came off the bench. The revitalization starts with the hiring of Wolf late in '91 and the trip to Atlanta on Dec. 1 of that year, when he told Harlan he was going to watch Favre in warmups, and then said he was going to trade a first-rounder for him. Wolf was planning to replace Majkowski from the moment he arrived on the scene.


Matty from Durango, CO


I'd trade 0.2 seconds slower in the 40 for a receiver with hands so sticky they have to shake the ball off. So sticky they nailed a Gorilla Glue endorsement. So sticky they…you get the picture. Have there been any Packers ball catchers whose lack of drops more than made up for other shortcomings?


As far as guys I covered, James Jones comes to mind. He was never a speed-burner or overly shifty, and he had to shake off a case of the drops in 2010. But then his hands became as reliable as anyone's, and combined with his experience and savvy, what he did for the Packers in the '11, '12, '13 and '15 seasons ranks right up there.


Matt from Minneapolis, MN


It is clear that Rashan Gary can be utilized on passing downs along with the Smiths to create pressure. Do you think he or Za'Darius Smith could be utilized creatively on early downs to stop the run? Could you line them up at defensive tackle to penetrate or even at inside linebacker as a hammer against blockers?


I don't see it at inside linebacker, but I do see varying fronts Pettine can try against the run.


Mike from Bronxville, NY


I read Aaron Rodgers ' take on the lockdown and I want to provide another perspective. I caught the virus in March prior to lockdown and I wish we were shut down sooner because the long-term effects post-recovery have been difficult. I'm 30 and now have trouble breathing and with even walking up stairs. I can't wait to go to restaurants and bars again and to watch Packers football again, but I also can't wait to feel well again. I get his point but this is about safety. No one should go through this.


I'm sorry for your ordeal, Mike. I hope you have brighter days ahead. Everyone wants sports to come back, including me, but it isn't as easy as just playing without fans, and the risks are real. I would expect the NFLPA to take very seriously the health protocols that will be put in place in order to play again. I wouldn't blame a single player for saying "no thanks."


Steven from Silver Spring, MD


Is there any more misguided convention than the sit-and-develop argument for QBs? Did AR12 develop because he sat for three years or was he really pretty good from the get-go and we just never saw it? A rookie QB will have some lesser stats such as a worse TD/INT ratio (Manning/Deshaun Watson) but in big-picture terms the idea that a field-tilting talent never saw their potential because they started too early does not have any evidence to support it.


Mike McCarthy said the smartest thing I've ever heard on this subject. He believed it was less about whether a young QB was ready to play than whether the team was ready for the young QB to play. Meaning, good or bad situations matter, whether or not a QB has been sitting.


Blake from Itasca, IL


What defensive players do you see coming back from injury/competing for a starting role/second year having the biggest upside or impact in the overall performance of the squad? I'm keen on all of them.


My top five list of young players whose continued development will impact the 2020 defense the most would be Gary, Darnell Savage, Kingsley Keke, Josh Jackson and Oren Burks.


Nic from London, UK


I bristle at the bad-faith arguments made about the Dez non-catch in GB. People confuse not liking the rule with a bad call. That rule was the same all season long and correctly applied in that situation. The rule seeming illogical is a separate matter. Michael Adams not getting called for facemask in '09 against Arizona is a non-call where an existing rule was not applied. What is a genuinely bad call the Pack has benefited from in the playoffs?


Interesting question. I remember a somewhat questionable call toward the end of the Barry Sanders shutdown game ('94 wild card) when the Lions were threatening to score, but I can't recall the details nor that it was anything overly controversial. Otherwise, Cobb pushed off on the halftime Hail Mary vs. the Giants ('16 wild card), but no one in Packers Nation obviously was apologizing for it.