Cheesehead
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
- 2,854
- 0
Chris from Clive, IA
Good morning! With the Packers playing the Jets at home in the preseason and LaFleur's connections with their new coaching additions, do you think that may produce some joint practices that week if allowed?
That would not surprise me in the slightest, but I have no knowledge whether any such discussions have taken place.
Sam from Fairfax, VA
What you wrote: "David Bakhtiari will be back when Bakhtiari is ready." What I read: Bakh will be back when Bakh is Bakh.
You're lucky it's Friday or I'd tell you to show yourself out.
Ryan from Baldwin, WI
Why do you think the Bears cut bait so soon into Mitchell Trubisky's average career, when they held onto Jay Cutler for much longer? Was Cutler that much better, or is the league dynamic changing where if you don't think a guy has it a couple years in the league, you go find another?
Very different contract situations with those two guys. When the Bears gave Cutler a huge new contract and a boatload of guaranteed money in 2014 – he had piloted them to double-digit wins in two of the previous four seasons – they were tied to him for a while no matter what. At that time, they decided to keep what they had and pay the going rate rather than start over. The Bears chose last year not to exercise the fifth-year option on Trubisky and had an easy way out after 2020.
Eric from Green Bay, WI
Good morning Mike! I'm wondering if the recent emphasis on interior offensive linemen has to do with the fact the rules changes have made it so QBs can get rid of the ball quicker and safer than ever before, and now defenses are having to rely on interior pass rush to get initial pressure? I don't have any stats to back this idea up but what are your thoughts?
We've certainly seen over the last decade how salaries for interior linemen on both sides have risen considerably. There's still a gap between what the top offensive tackles make compared to guards, and what the top edge rushers make compared to three-techniques, but it's not as large as it used to be.
Robert from Harris, MN
I personally do not find Aaron Rodgers' silence at all disconcerting. Actually the longer it goes on the more hopeful I become. To me it is an indication that there are (still) bridges he is being careful not to burn.
I think there's merit to that view. Rodgers will discuss it when he feels it's time to discuss it.
Brad from Nampa, ID
So we now have three first-round QBs on the roster. Do you know of any team that has had three first-round picks in the QB room at the same time?
Sorry, I don't have that list in front of me.
Jeff from Wentzville, MO
Geoffrey from Rosemount, MN: When was the last time Ohio State put out a successful pro quarterback? Wes: Man…I didn't realize how good this question was until I looked it up. I mean, who is the best Ohio State QB in the NFL? Tom Tupa? Me: Hey Wes, not that this Bear/Packer was a rousing success, but what about Mike Tomczak? Record: 42-31 Total passing yards: 16,079. Total TDs: 88. Total INTs: 106.
He's probably the answer, and when I researched the draft history for Monday's column, I didn't hit on Tomczak because he was undrafted.
Jason from Woodbury, MN
As a youth baseball coach, when our schedule comes out, every year I look it over, circle 2-3 games against teams I know will be good, and think to myself, "If we win these, we make the playoffs easy." Are there any such games on the Packers' 2021 schedule that trigger that feeling for you? Would ML and the rest of the coaching staff ever think or plan in such terms?
Personally, I see the November slate heading into the late bye as a crucial stretch – at Chiefs, vs. Seahawks, at Vikings, vs. Rams – that could tell us a lot about the 2021 Packers. But there's no way to know the state of any of those teams, or the Packers, when November rolls around. But as far as LaFleur and the coaching staff are concerned, absolutely, positively not fails to answer your question strongly enough.