Margeaux from Tallahassee, FL
Good morning, Wes. I swore I was done watching football after the latest Packer disappointment. I lied to myself. I watched this weekend anyway. I’m glad I did. It turns out that the Packers aren’t the only team capable of dumbassery!
I’m with you, Margeaux. I, too, lied. After everything I said last week, I ended up watching more playoff football over the past three days than I did the last three years outside of the Packers games I was covering. If crow is to be served this week, I shall bring my fork and knife.
This weekend had a little bit of everything, didn’t it? Dominance, division rivals, unexpectedly close games, a predictable nail-biter, a historic comeback, and more. Not bad! I’m sure the league is happy, although I could’ve gone for about five or six more touchdowns by the Giants.
This weekend was yet another reminder the NFL is king. Wild-card weekend had all the drama, suspense, and spectacular finishes you could ever want.
Laurie from Sheboygan, WI
Watching the wild-card games this weekend, I noticed a focus, intensity, and speed-to-the-ball I never saw with the Packers all season. I came away feeling as if we would not have beaten any of those teams. Is that just the playoff mentality, or were all those teams really that much better than us?
Those teams are playing for a reason. I think the Packers could play with most of them. Heck, they even beat some. But the six teams that won this weekend all played complementary, four-quarter football. Green Bay didn’t do enough of that this season.
For me the three biggest “ups” of the season were the OT win over Dallas, the destruction of Minnesota, and the rise of Keisean Nixon. Any chance we could see a story about how Nixon got the “tryout” for the return job? Just next man up? Did someone look at his past and recommend him? Did he ask for a shot? Did someone ask him if he’d be interested? It could be a great offseason story to tell, and surely the details aren’t a secret to be kept. After years of kick return mediocrity, inquiring minds want to know!
We’ll see about a longer story, but really it came down to practice. Nixon had a returning background and just showed Rich Bisaccia he could do it during the workweek. The most fascinating part of the whole deal is how Nixon emerged as the Packers’ punt returner. From the sound of it, Nixon pretty much went in cold against Dallas but owned that role and never looked back.
It seems like there have often been guys that either return punts or kickoffs but rarely one guy that does both consistently. Is that an accurate perception? What qualities have to be present in a guy that can do both at such a high level as Keisean Nixon?
It’s funny you mention that because Nixon’s achievements made me go back and look at Desmond Howard’s 1996 season. As dynamic as Howard was as a punt returner, he was just OK on kickoffs. Howard averaged 20.9 yards per return on 22 kickoffs in Green Bay. For his career, Howard averaged 22.2 yards on 359 kickoff returns and didn’t have a single TD. Meanwhile, Cordarrelle Patterson was an exceptional kickoff returner but handled only one punt in the NFL. It takes explosivity, vision and fearlessness to master both roles and Nixon possesses all three of those attributes.
Dave from Lakewood Ranch, FL
Gentlemen, do you think before the season started the Packers front office/coaching staff expected more production from the tight end position? If so, did they believe the talent in that room was better than it was? Or did members of that room just underperform?
I know you guys won’t like this answer, but I truly believe the Packers got the production they wanted from their tight ends. There weren’t a ton of explosive plays, but that’s never really been the tight end’s primary M.O. during the Aaron Rodgers era. The Packers ask their tight ends to block, make clutch catches and be versatile. I believe the “need” of that position is centered on whether Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis return. If they come back, I feel like Green Bay has larger fish to fry in the needs department this offseason. If they don’t, then the Packers have some decision to make with what type of investment they’re willing to make into the position.
Hey guys, a question about tight ends. For years, I have watched certain tight ends run wild in the NFL. Rob Gronkowski, George Kittle, Mark Andrews and now T.J. Hockenson. Are these guys really that much better than the rest, including ours? Is it talent or scheme? What say you?
I remarked to Spoff on Sunday there are just so few elite tight ends in this league. It is a tough position to master, leading to a dearth of five-tool tight ends. What’s more, the best ones often weren’t drafted until the third round or later. There’s no proven blueprint for identifying those game-changing tight ends, either. We may be 100-plus years into this thing, but it’s still a mystery that hasn’t fully been revealed.
