Phillip from Wonder Lake, IL
When the Packers practice with other teams, would you think they give away some of their secrets?
Yes, but I also see it a bit like sparring in boxing or MMA. Your veterans need to get those rounds in, especially if they’re not going to play in the preseason. What will be most interesting is practicing against two different NFL teams in back-to-back weeks. It may be unprecedented for the Packers.
If you put the over/under on the Packers at 7½, would you go over or under and why?
Well, gambling is illegal in Bushwood, sir, but assuming the rules are made up and the points don’t matter… I’ll pass. I think the Packers will surprise the critics. For all the questions at quarterback, I also feel Green Bay’s current roster is stronger than most teams it will face. Last year proved how quickly things can change in the NFL, but the Packers won’t play a returning playoff team until Week 8 (Minnesota).
Thanks, gentlemen, for the great column. Long-time daily reader dating back to the Ask Vic beginnings. I’m a transplant living in the purple state and I’m amazed at the difference between the two fandoms. Packers Nation is feeling cautiously optimistic about the team’s future, while here they feel skepticism. That is the difference between our history. My question is, do we really appreciate what we have lived through the last 20-30 years?
I hope so because this has been a special run (and it’s far from over). Many of the memories shared last week are stories I will one day tell my son. Championships are the intended destination—and the Packers reached the mountaintop twice in my lifetime—but the journey is the memories we make along the way. When it comes down to it, my cup runs over. So I can’t wait to see what the future holds as we move into the Jordan Love era in Titletown.
Is Sean Clifford on the team as a backup?
The battle between Clifford and Danny Etling for the No. 2 job behind Jordan Love is one of the more intriguing contests we’ve yet to discuss (our “Countdown to Camp” position-by-position series starts with the QBs later this morning, by the way). Although Etling has never played in an NFL regular season game, this will be his sixth training camp. He has now spent a year with Love after serving as an understudy to three former NFL MVPs (Tom Brady, Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers). Clifford did a nice job during the offseason program and should be a formidable challenge for Etling.
Mark from West Des Moines, IA
Which game are you most looking forward to this year?
Wes: The other day you used the phrase “avoidable mistakes”. Isn’t that redundant? I believe that all mistakes can be avoided or they will not be considered mistakes. What am I overlooking?
Possibly, but my point was that there is a difference between a QB making a bad decision and taking a valuable chance. Sometimes it’s OK to go all-in on a game if the situation calls for it. As a QB you just want to make sure you have a live hand when the cards show up and not draw dead ones.
Steve from Hurricane, UT
Wes responded on “Hard Knocks” on July 1: “The ghost of Curly Lambeau could do a guest spot and you couldn’t get me to turn it on.” I know he’s young, but come on! I haven’t seen “Hard Knocks” either, but as a lifelong Packer fan I wanted to see something about the Packers. Wasn’t that a bit hard?
Don’t get it twisted, Steve. For years I was a big fan of “Hard Knocks”. It was must-see TV, but it’s just not the same show anymore. It’s like playing the “Madden” video game every summer as a teenager. One day I finally realized I was paying $60 for the same game. I just don’t get anything out of “Hard Knocks” anymore. Maybe Rodgers and the Jets would change that.
Dave from River Falls, WI
Regarding “Hard Knocks” I wonder what you would do if it was filmed in your backyard?
How do they get the Packers uniforms so clean after a game, especially the white jerseys?
Red Batty and his crew don’t mess around. Best equipment department in the NFL.
I was wondering what the favorite part of your job is. Is there anything you’re looking forward to (besides kickoff)?
My two favorite parts of my job are gamedays and working with people like Red Batty. The Green Bay Packers are the fourth company I’ve received a regular paycheck from, following McDonald’s (2004-05), Maplewood Meats (2005-06) and the Green Bay Press Gazette (2006-16). What I learned in all four places is that you won’t always love your job, but the people who bring a smile to your face are what make it all worth it. A building is just a building without the people who make those bricks meaningful.
A competition to eat lunch with the two of you. If I win, can I steal Wes’s lunch?
You? Will you steal my lunch before Spoff does? Admirable, but flawed. You just adopted the art of the stolen lunch. Spoff was born into it, molded by it.
This is not the dead zone. It’s a great read. The NFL world should be jealous.
May you live forever, Dan. Thanks for the laugh.
If you were an NFL player and had your choice of any jersey number, regardless of position, what would you choose?
And we have our first question for Outsider Inbox 2024.
Wes, the memorabilia answers had me tearing up my office. I hoped no colleagues would walk by and see. Well done!
I think we will make this a permanent question every year. It was emotional reading stories about how people bonded with the Packers with deceased friends and family. It made me think of my own grandfather, who was the biggest Packers fan I’ve ever known. He had the foresight to feverishly support the Lambeau Field vote. Although it seems like a no-brainer today, we quickly forget how much debate there was about the proposal almost a quarter of an hour ago. I remember Grandpa Hank saying, “Wessy, getting that referendum passed is important to the future of Green Bay.” Look, who would have thought that place would hire his own grandson one day? My family owes Bob Harlan a big thank you for that.
I have nothing for Outbox that comes close to the replies and responses you’ve probably been inundated with. So I’m just going to put this out there, sit back and take in all the answers…
We appreciate you too, Alvin.
Mickey from Tepexi de Rodriguez, Mexico
“The love for this team continues to be passed down” comments made me proud to be a Packer fan. I have lived all over the world and have shared the Packers and the community it involves everywhere I have been from Ethiopia to Thailand to Turkey to Côte d’Ivoire to Mexico where I am currently serving on my second tour with the Peace Corps in a age of 57. Some people may think that football is just a game, but I have learned time and time again that it is more than that. It is an opportunity to share.
Mickey, you are everything that is good about this column and the Packers fandom. God bless you. I’ll be out for a while, but Spoff will be back behind the wheel tomorrow. Again, my thanks and thanks to everyone who participated in Outsider Inbox V.