Inbox: Upgrade, refine and revise, and let's go

[Cheesehead]

Jim from Arkdale, WI


Was that Yogism on purpose?


If you have to ask, you aren't giving Wes enough credit.


Donny from Green Bay, WI


I can't wait for all the typical statements from GMs at the draft. We were shocked he was still available. We targeted him all along. Highest player on our board at the time. We thought we got good value. He's a high-character, big-motor guy, good locker room fit. What do you expect the GM to say, "We really wanted player X but those darn Seahawks took him right before us"? Which typical statements am I missing?


Pure honesty with anything draft-related is a pipe dream. You pretty much hit on all the clichés, though. I appreciate the laugh. What's even funnier is how often those quotes are actually printed in stories or aired on broadcasts. I won't say I've never used one, but I seriously try not to. There's no lazier way to cover the draft.


Anthony from Southington, CT


Does position need go into determining BAP? I mean, if the BAP at pick 30 was a QB, I wouldn't expect the Packers to go there and have Gute say we picked the BAP. There must be a factor for need also.


You don't split hairs, but you don't leave decidedly better players for other teams to draft. One grading system (I don't know what the Packers use) rates players out to two decimals. If you're on the clock and you have three players rated at 6.48, 6.45 and 6.41, positional need will certainly factor into the selection. But if those three guys and someone rated at 7.5 is still on the board, you aren't hesitating to take the 7.5, regardless of position, unless you're suddenly afraid the rest of the league knows something you don't. Whether or not your phone is ringing with trade offers could answer that.


Rob from Wilmington, NC


I'm very disappointed with Wes. Everyone knows brats are five or 10 to a pack.


Details, details.


Daniel from Altoona, WI


Mike, you need to separate yourself from Rodgers and accept the fact his skills are diminishing. Sure I believe he wants to play to 40, too. But will he be any good? Will he be helping or hindering the team? I think the latter. Think the Carolina game with playoff hopes on the line. He could not perform. Don't forget 13 screws. At what cost does he still get the start just because he's "Rodgers" vs. what he can produce out on the field? It's time to start to find his replacement.


The Carolina game in '17? He hadn't played a game in two months. My goodness. Look, I think I was pretty honest with everyone last season when Rodgers' accuracy was inconsistent, and when he wasn't always the Rodgers we were used to seeing. But let's step back for a moment. He had exactly one wide receiver on the roster taken in the first four rounds of any draft (with three who weren't drafted at all), and he was working his way through a system transition. Under those circumstances, to say his skills are past the point of no return is ludicrous. Do you think it was just coincidence the Saints won 11, 13 and 13 games in Drew Brees' age 38-40 seasons upon finding Michael Thomas in the second round (and after they'd gone 7-9 three straight years)? Upgrade the WR corps, refine and revise some scheme heading into Year 2, and let's go. To take any other approach with a 36-year-old HOFer at the game's most important position is unfathomable to me.


Kyle from Sun Prairie, WI


Your response to the questions about sending Rodgers out to sea soon made me go the data route. Using simple average salary (not cap hit), Rodgers is third at $33M/year, Stafford 10th at $22M, Flacco 15th at $22M, and Dalton 20th at $16M. The dropoff isn't worth the saved salary. I would take a first- or second-year Mahomes over Rodgers right now, but the odds of that happening are at or near zero. (Contract info from overthecap*). Question for Spoff: Have you typed II from the patio of Hinterland?


I couldn't agree more, and when you do decide to move on, you don't know whether you've invested a first-round pick in another Mahomes or another Paxton Lynch until he's actually playing every game, no matter how long he's been groomed behind the starter. As confident as the Packers were in Rodgers in 2008, they still didn't really know, and they didn't give him a contract extension until halfway through that year. Even with more to go on, there are no sure things. Jared Goff helped the Rams get to a Super Bowl, got $110 million guaranteed last year, and then put up a TD-INT ratio of 22-16 and an 86.5 passer rating after two Pro Bowl years. It's not an easy game, so I'll definitely prefer to hang onto the surefire HOF guy who's been through the wars and knows what it takes. And before everyone attacks that line with Favre's final renaissance in Minnesota, you have to remember Favre already had been contemplating retirement for two offseasons heading into the Packers' selection of Rodgers in the draft. He gave the franchise no choice but to be prepared for the future long before it actually arrived. That is not the case here. Sorry for the second straight long post. As for your question, I've never done that but it sounds like a great idea. Maybe I could even get the boss to expense the lunch so I don't have to steal Wes's.


Allan from Austin, TX


If you could have written II for one other franchise for one day over the past 10 years, what franchise/day would you pick? Also, which other franchise/day would you have dreaded to write II for that day?


I'd pick the same day for both questions, but different franchises. Jan. 15, 2018. Minnesota, New Orleans.


Nathan from Dubuque, IA


Last year the Packers seemed to double dip on an area of need. Signing two OLB free agents to rush the passer and then selecting Rashan Gary at 12 who didn't see the field as much as (in my opinion) a top 15 draft pick would. Do you think the Packers will unfortunately do that again? Either with a free agent LB or WR and then drafting someone in the first round?


I disagree with the use of "unfortunately" because there's nothing wrong in my view with focusing resources on a premier position like pass rusher, especially when practically starting over like the Packers were. I don't see them using free agency and the first-round pick to make three additions at one position again, but getting multiples at a spot through a signing and a high draft pick (first two days) wouldn't surprise me at all.