Inbox: It's a golden opportunity to finish strong

[Cheesehead]

Derek from Norton, KS


Coach Rhule was known as a defensive-minded coach in college and seems to have translated well to the NFL game. Most coaches making the jump tend to struggle to replicate their collegiate success. What do you think of Coach Rhule and the prospects of his future success in the NFL?


He's the only NFL head coach who has unfollowed me on Twitter. I don't think it was personal, though. He just started climbing the coaching ladder and didn't need to be following random packers.com writers on social media anymore. All kidding aside, I love Rhule's energy, passion and how he communicates. He's a proven builder. I wouldn't be surprised if he has the Panthers competing for the playoffs again in the not-so-distant future.


Cam from Pekin, IL


I'm a football season-ticket holder at Southern Illinois University, and had the pleasure of watching Jeremy Chinn for four years. He is the real deal. I hope Jeremy has a good game, but we still win the game. I forwarded the comment, and Spoff's reply to our athletic department this morning. We've had a few outstanding players over the years: Jim Hart (QB St. Louis Cardinals), Brandon Jacobs (RB N.Y. Giants), Mycole Pruitt (TE Titans), Bart Scott (LB N.Y. Jets), and Tom Baugh (OL Bengals).


Chinn is an exciting young football player and the Panthers are really using his versatility to its fullest potential. He's a big part of Carolina's bright future on defense.


Steve from Algoma, WI


Good morning Insiders, and happy weekend. Have you ever seen a team in Week 15 with a shorter road (literally) to the Super Bowl? If the Packers continue to take care of business, they have only a 32-minute flight to Chicago over the next six weeks before the charter to Tampa. Home-field advantage may be one thing, but nothing beats home cooking, family and your own bed.


It's a golden opportunity to finish strong. Rodgers has spoken since the Packers' loss to Atlanta in 2016 NFC Championship Game about wanting the road to the Super Bowl going through Lambeau Field. The ball is in the Packers' court. They can make that happen over these next 15 days.


Tony from Seattle, WA


Hi Mike and Wes, I've been reading a lot of questions debating home-field advantage in the pandemic season. For what it's worth, I used to travel for a living before COVID and the mental and physical stress of going to the airport, being stuck on an airplane and not sleeping in your own bed really do affect you physically! Some of the younger guys on the roster might not feel it, but by age 28, I stopped looking forward to flying. Good luck to the Pack securing the No. 1 seed, Go Pack Go!


Exactly. It's so much easier to roll out of bed in Green Bay and drive to the office than to hop on a plane and fly halfway across the country.


Scott from Wausau, WI


Hello, now that the Packers have clinched at least one home playoff game, would it be to their advantage to continue with a relatively empty Lambeau? Do you attribute any of the Packers' success to the quieter stadiums? On a personal note, being able to have Packers football this year has really made a difficult time more tolerable – I'm very thankful for that and will not take it for granted in the future. Thanks, Merry Christmas and GO PACK GO!


It's probably a little of both. I think it has helped make Rodgers even more dangerous with his cadence and the offensive communication, but it's also tougher to get amped up going into a game without a crowd. The Packers have adapted to it, though, as the season has progressed.


Matt from Auburndale, WI


You can have one player back for the stretch run to (and hopefully through) the playoffs that we've lost via free agency in the past few years. Who would it be and why?


Micah Hyde. The guy could play anywhere, which would be valuable right now with Raven Greene on injured reserve.


Gordon from Newport Beach, CA


Wes, when Mike Pettine mentioned the other day that "offensive holding penalties were way down," could you extrapolate that to include defensive holding also?


It's funny how that doesn't seem to have decreased at all, huh?