Tim from Sun Prairie, WI
Vic, the Packers can’t pay all their WRs. Do they part with Nelson or Cobb? Is Montgomery a slot WR after all?
You’re not thinking new. You’re perseverating over what’s old. The Packers need to get younger and faster at wide receiver. The concern should be for adding players, not retaining them. I’m not being disrespectful. That’s just the way it is in the NFL. It’s a game of replacement.
Robert from Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Vic, I don’t like reaching for accolades but if Jacksonville’s defense carries the team to a Super Bowl in the same fashion it carried them to a win yesterday, should they be considered among the all-time great defenses?
Why wait? Overreaction is all around us. I am officially proclaiming “Sacksonville” to be the greatest defense in the history of the world.
Ben from Hilo, HI
What surprised you most during the wild-card weekend?
I guess I was most surprised by the Chiefs’ collapse, but I don’t know why. Andy Reid’s Chiefs teams bear a strong resemblance to his Eagles teams, soft.
Leif from Saint Croix Falls, WI
Vic, what are your thoughts on Ben Roethlisberger and his odds of retiring after the season ends?
During the first half of the Indianapolis game, he looked old and I felt strongly I was seeing him playing in his final season. Then, in the fourth quarter, he caught fire. He moved his offense up and down the field, rallied for the win and, in the process, looked young again, and it’s been that way ever since. I’m not sure about his future now. After a 14-season career in which the quarterback protections often weren’t applied to him, I could certainly understand why he would consider retirement, but I’m not seeing anything in his game that suggests eroding skills. Be that as it may, the Steelers need to draft a quarterback high.
Darren from Chicago, IL
You’ve stated several times before that Mike McCarthy is a leader of men. Considering all the coaching changes at (the Packers) and around the league, how high on your priority list is that trait and how hard is it to find it among candidates? And thanks for continuing your work!
It’s never been more important and we’re seeing evidence of that right now as it pertains to the Packers. When I first suggested the Packers need to become new, there was outrage in my inbox. What do you mean, they stormed? Aaron Rodgers will recover. He’ll be back and everything will be fine again, they said. Darren, I’ve lived a football life, and it was easy for me to see what was going to happen with the Packers, and the best news for Packers fans is they have a coach who also sees it and isn’t afraid to do what needs to be done. Change is everywhere. It’s in coaching and personnel, and it’ll extend to the roster, where I think change is most important. Coach McCarthy is a leader of men. He knows what needs to be done and he won’t rest until it’s accomplished. A new GM is in place. I believe Brian Gutkekunst is the right man for the job, and it’s believed he shares Coach McCarthy’s vision for what needs to happen for the Packers to begin a new run. Soon, we’ll begin getting a feel for what that vision is.
Randy from Medicine Hat, AB
Towards the end of the first quarter in the Jaguars/Bills game … Tony Romo said “we are in for a good, old-fashioned field position game.” Amazingly, that was what I was thinking at that very moment.
Romo says many things. He’s the “Chatty Cathy” of TV football analysts. After the Bills failed to draw the Jaguars offsides and called a time out before the play clock expired, Romo said the Bills should’ve taken the delay of game penalty and saved the timeout, since five yards would’ve been meaningless in the field goal attempt. Then, before the ball could be snapped for the field goal attempt, the Jaguars jumped offsides, giving the Bills first and goal. I guess that’s why you call timeout, Romo should’ve said, but he never did.
Michael from Fernandina Beach, FL
What do you think the Jags’ chances are next week at Pittsburgh?
In all sincerity, the Jaguars have a defense that can beat anybody. I don’t think “Sacksonville” deserves to be mentioned, yet, with the great defenses of all time, but it’s good, real good.
Jesse from Bethlehem, PA
Can you tell us anything about Brian Gutekunst? Should Packers fans be excited about this?
I love him. He’s a great scout and a wonderfully personable football man. He’s dynamite in press conferences and he’ll help bridge gaps between football and the other departments within the Packers. He’s just what the Packers need.
Bryan from Springfield, WI
Is picking the picker a crystal ball business?
It absolutely is because you never know how a picker will pick until he’s on the clock.
Roger from Auburn, CA
Vic, if the Packers GM position is such an attractive position, why would the Packers promote an internal candidate when the past several drafts have left us with a mediocre talent base?
I can’t get it across, can I? Roger, in my opinion, the Packers’ extended run at the bottom of the draft order weakened the team’s roster. Gutekunst won’t have that problem this year, and it might not be a problem for a few years.
Adam from Wausau, WI
I saw the NFL ratings were down almost 10 percent. How will this affect the cap going forward?
Ratings don’t affect the salary cap unless they result in a less lucrative TV contract. The cap is determined by revenue.
Chris from Bozeman, MT
I’m curious what you think it means when someone says “the Packers’ way”? You really only hear this in reference to teams like GB, NE and Pitt. To me, it’s a little smug. All teams place value on an opera non verba philosophy.
A little smug? For those of you who weren’t required to take Latin, “opera non verba” means “actions, not words.” The only reason I know the meaning is because Tom Coughlin hung a sign in the hallway with those words on it. He was real proud of it, in an altar boy sort of way, and he asked me, “How do you like the sign?” I told him I didn’t know what it meant. “I thought you went to Catholic school,” he said. “It was an elementary school, not a seminary,” I said. I don’t think the sign was a big hit with the players. As for the Packers’ way, the Patriots’ way, the Steelers’ way, it’s a smug way of saying draft Rodgers, draft Brady, draft Roethlisberger. Players, not ways.
Bob from Green Bay, WI
If the President proposed eliminating professional sports to combat global warming, I’ll bet you would have a different take on the subject.
Reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere offends you? I think we need to have an open mind on this issue, because a lot of people live on the water’s edge and if they have to move in mass, everybody is going to suffer. I’m being asked to avoid political discussions. This has nothing to do with politics. Those who think it does are the problem.
Mark from Nashville, TN
What are some of your all-time favorite responses from news conferences?
When Chuck Noll would get questioned about play-calling, he’d say, “What you’re really asking me is why didn’t we win?” Chuck had many ways of getting his message across with succinct use of words. For example, when Chuck found himself having to repeatedly answer the question about when a player would be recovered from injury and able to play, Chuck might answer, “Nobody knows.” If you were the subject of a “nobody knows” answer, it was time for you to get healthy. My all-time favorite draft-day response in a press conference comes from Tom Coughlin, who can be very diplomatic in choosing his words when the occasion demands. Following the selection of a player who had been suspended by the university for his part in a dormitory fire, Coughlin said, “Now, we all know the unfortunate story about a dormitory room and an incendiary device.”
Jonathan from Saint Joseph, MO
Is this a do or die year for Coach McCarthy?
Why do fans love to fire the coach? As the Titans were in the process of rallying for one of the great wins in franchise history on Saturday, Pro Football Talk was posting a story proclaiming Mike Mularkey might be the next to go. Mularkey is the coach of a team that won three games just two years ago. He’s reversed the fortunes of the franchise, yet, as the Titans were rallying for one of their greatest victories, Mularkey was on the hot seat. It’s Nutsville, but it’s what the fans want so the media and the owners play to it. The wolves are in control. Just howl, baby.
Steve from Phoenix, AZ
I’m a Badgers fan. I watched the first round of the playoffs. I hate to say it but I don’t think Wisconsin could have effectively competed with the all-around speed and depth I saw on the field. I think things worked out very well for them this year.
Wisconsin played a horribly weak regular-season schedule, lost to a non-playoff team in the Big 10 title game, and then beat a Miami team that finished its season with three consecutive losses, two of them by wide margins. Still, the record looks great, and Wisconsin has an opportunity to use their 2017 fame to recruiting advantage. That’s what has to happen for Wisconsin to go to the next level; it must recruit better. It’s a good three-star program, but Ohio State and Penn State are recruiting at a higher level.
Les from Oshkosh, WI
It would appear your 1/1 response to Brandon about putting Edgar Bennett and everyone else on the hot seat wasn’t an overreaction. I am disappointed he was dismissed so quickly while the head coach was given a year extension covertly in October.
Edgar is a top coach and he will grow from this experience. His situation is nearly identical to Tony Dungy’s. Tony became Steelers defensive coordinator at a young age but faced a demotion following a terrible season in 1988. Rather than accept the demotion to defensive backs coach, he took the same position in Kansas City. His career quickly blossomed. I believe the same will happen to Edgar. Just as Tony had spent too much time in Pittsburgh, as a player and then as a coach, Edgar had spent too much time in Green Bay. You can get stale when you stay in one place too long. With this, Edgar will begin to move. There are 32 teams in this league.
Curt from Pennsylvania
Vic, I’m just curious. Take yourself back in time to just before the first Packers-Vikings game, when the Packers had only one loss and, of course, not knowing all the subsequent injuries to come, what were your expectations of the Packers’ season at that point.
My expectation was Aaron Rodgers would camouflage the roster’s deficiencies and take the Packers into the playoffs.
Chuck from Madison, WI
Vic, glad to find you again! What is your opinion of Damarius Randall, his play, his on-field demeanor, his recent comments about teammates not being held accountable?
The more he popped off, the better he played. I can live with that. Deeds, not words, right?
Chris from Lexington, KY
I’d like to hear your take on Clinton-Dix’s comments.
He didn’t have a great season. The words ring a little hollow.
Derek from LaCrosse, WI
What is your favorite Ted Thompson story?
I don’t have one. That’s kind of sad.
Mike from McFarland, WI
Would Hundley’s value in this league be higher right now if he hadn’t played this year? Is mystery and hype more appealing to a team than knowing?
Gary Cuozzo, huh? Chico Ruiz said, “Bench me or trade me.”
Jerry from Savannah, GA
Vic, why do teams have to grant permission before certain interviews are allowed? Seems a bit communistic.
College football should be so communistic. If it was, it wouldn’t bear the embarrassment of the coach of one team coaching another team.
Dan from Michigan
How much of the Patriots dynasty is due to a weakness of the AFC? It seems like every year they have a bye and their first playoff game is against a team that isn’t playoff caliber. If the Packers received two byes every year for the last eight years, I think we’d have more than one Super Bowl as well.
What would you say about the Packers’ road to the Super Bowl in 2010? Jay Cutler and the Bears in the NFC title game, and Todd Collins and somebody named Mr. Hanie played most of the game? Packers fans need to see the Packers through the same eyes they view the rest of the league.
Ben from El Paso, TX
What if Mariota loses possession before the ball breaks the plane and tumbles into the pylon, incomplete or fumble?
Al Riveron would’ve burst into flames. Seriously, that’s a great question. Mariota wasn’t going to the ground to make the catch, so my guess is he wouldn’t have had to survive the ground, which would’ve made losing the ball into the pylon a touchback. That’s my take on it, but you never know about Riveron. Also, if I’m Mike Mularkey, I use that play as an example to my players to not use the pylon when you can use the goal line.
Steve from Natrona Heights, PA
Who do you like next week in the Pittsburgh/Jacksonville game?
I like Natrona Heights, because it’s my hometown.
