Clipton from Pasadena, CA
Mike, we’re sorry about the discomfort you and David Bakhtiari experienced with your surgeries, but as the doyen of Insider grammar you’ve now demonstrated your ability to elevate the level of Inbox discourse from the very first question through the appendices.
My stomach feels ill again.
What does the team do the during the bye week?
Chill. The players’ job is to get their bodies back for the final push. The coaches have self-scout and other film review assignments they’re charged with, but they’re working on those from home.
Baker Mayfield had been WAIVED?
And his next game will be at Lambeau Field.
Last week it was NO at TB. Last night it was Raiders at Rams. I am sick of improbable comebacks. Mainly because the same team was totally incompetent for the first 50 minutes.
More than 50, actually. But Jerry Tillery swatting the ball out of Mayfield’s hands for a personal foul ranks right up there with Dennis Allen calling a single-high defense on second-and-20 with a 13-point lead. Every improbable comeback requires something galactically stupid to make it possible.
Barton from Tulum, Mexico
Hola amigos! Great to hear RB Aaron Jones is the Packers’ candidate for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award! Love his dedication to the Packers and, of course, his sombrero. Has any Packer in history had more than Jones’ 64 touchdowns (incl. playoffs) in their first six seasons?
According to my research (which could be wrong), the only one with more is Jim Taylor, who had 67. Ahman Green also had 64 in his first six seasons with the Packers (not first six in the league). Here are the others I found who had at least 50 including playoffs: Antonio Freeman (58), Greg Jennings (54), Davante Adams (50) and Paul Hornung (50, incl. his TD passes).
Margeaux from Tallahassee, FL
Top of the morning Mike! The play of interior defensive linemen is hard to notice watching on TV. Has Devonte Wyatt‘s play picked up of late?
A lot of folks asking about Wyatt. He only played nine snaps at Chicago after getting 20 at Philly, but it’s not as though anyone had a good game up front out there. He made a solid play on that late third-down run by Montgomery on Sunday, and he’s had other building-block moments like that this season. There’s no overstating how important this upcoming offseason will be for him.
Michael from Winchester, VA
I was excited to see Cliff Christl’s write-up of William Henderson, an unsung hero of the Favre era. If it weren’t for Mike Alstott putting up big stats in Tampa Bay (as opposed to Henderson’s role that didn’t generate such stats), I believe Henderson would have been to several more Pro Bowls. Equal talent and skill, different roles. Christl writes that Henderson was fourth in regular-season games played when he retired. Who has passed him since and where does Henderson rank now?
He’s now seventh. Driver, Crosby and Rodgers have all since passed him on the list.
Bye week question for you, Mike. Which safety related penalties do you think should be reviewable? Helmet-to-helmet hits on a defenseless player come to mind first, but crackback blocks, horse-collar tackles, clipping, facemask, low hits on the QB, late hits, hits out of bounds, roughing the punter, hits after the whistle, and probably others are also safety-related.
Mostly the newer ones, like defenseless player, extra QB protections, horse collars, and now the blindside blocks, because I’ve seen flatter angles get flagged that shouldn’t have been, in my view. The only older one I might include would be facemasks, because the officials miss those a lot. The other old-school fouls you list there don’t need to be.
With all the talk about the Bucs’ last drive and possibly lack of penalties, do you think the NFL will ever change the penalty for PI from a spot foul, to 15 yards like college football? Those PI, spot-foul penalties can be absolute game-changers, and this would level the playing field a bit. Thoughts?
No. The pros would figure out how to just take a DPI when beat deep, or simply see what they can get away with and take their chances, rather than allow a big gain. That would be worse for the game.
For the third week in a row we’ve seen defenses take bad angles on Christian Watson. When I watch him run he doesn’t look like he has the afterburners on. This guy has got some sneaky jets.
I’m still not convinced we’ve seen him hit his top speed.
Darren from Oklahoma City, OK
Some of us older folks got the donkeys flying reference. Will you give some examples of the finer points of route running pertaining to C-dub?
I’m no coach, but you can see on film he’s still learning how to deal with contact in the first five yards, how to set up a move, how to not telegraph his route, how to maintain leverage for a throwing lane, etc. Those are finer points all young receivers have to learn because it’s so much harder to get open in the NFL. In Watson’s case, his speed is his best asset, and he uses it prodigiously. But once he figures out how to make the DBs think he’s at top speed before he actually kicks it in, and his QB knows exactly what he’s doing, look out.
Looking at this win against the Bears, I can’t help but to be extra disappointed in the losses to Washington and Detroit. Imagine how much different the outlook of the season would be if even just one of those games were won.
That’s what I’ve been saying, and why I mentioned those two games specifically a week or so ago. Those two losses will stick in the craw no matter what happens this last month.
Ray from Weeki Wachee, FL
Though not quite the same as last year’s pickups of Rasul Douglas and De’Vondre Campbell, don’t you think this years “Watergate Duo” of Keisean Nixon and Rudy Ford have been a significant addition? What is their contract status? They certainly look like the kind of players you’d like to keep around.
Both players are scheduled to become free agents in 2023, and I would think the Packers would strongly consider keeping both around. “Watergate Duo.” Ha, I like that.
