Inbox: It doesn’t get any tougher

Cheesehead

Well-known member
Mar 19, 2019
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Jon from West Des Moines, IA


I would really appreciate it if the II just did a collective knock on wood here for the post yesterday about no season-ending injuries on the Packers. All I'm asking for is two solid knocks from everyone and I'll be feeling much better.


The health of the team has made folks superstitious.


Tracy from Sioux Falls, SD


Finally some well-deserved love for 69 and as the starter no less. I'll chug a beer in his honor. Hope I can do a better job than AR. Just kidding. Got him covered on this. Too bad he'll be busy the following weekend to play in it.


I’m glad for Bakhtiari. He deserved it before now, and the irony is I think he would rank this as a solid though not his best season. It’s how this stuff goes and why I don’t get too worked up over it.


Ian from Sherman Oaks, CA


Having only two Pro Bowl selections feels like a bit of a slight. If you had it in your power to add one more Packer player, who would it be?


I have to pick two – Bulaga and Crosby. Nothing against the Smiths or Jones, and I know it’s not meant to be a career achievement award, but Bulaga and Crosby are seasoned, accomplished pros who are currently on top of their games yet have never had the honor. Crosby’s a first alternate, so he very well could get the call, provided he’s available. For Bulaga to not even make any alternate lists is a downright shame.


Tom from Suwanee, GA


Is that Jake’s little brother playing in the national championship game for UW-Whitewater? Same flowing locks coming out of the helmet but I never hear the broadcast team mention it during the Warhawks’ games. Thinking they’d say something after one of his big catches. Go Warhawks! (from an alumni)


Yes, Derek Kumerow is indeed Jake’s younger brother. My wife is also a UW-W grad.


Ron from Broken Arrow, OK


Mike, how many "kick to the clock" references did you get in Monday's Inbox after the Dak Prescott incident in Dallas? Further, what were your thoughts on the league's action regarding the incident?


I didn’t see anyone chime in with Vic’s old story when I was working on the column Sunday night. I thought the league did the right thing, because there was audio of Prescott saying “defer” even if he said “kick” first. This league has enough technicalities it doesn’t need to get hung up on one like that.


Jim from Oakland, CA


How is a multi-lateral play like the Bears used at the end of the game scored in the stat sheet? Does each player who touched the ball get credit for the yardage they gained, does it all go the guy who made the catch, or does it all go to the last guy who had it?


Cohen gets the reception and the receiving yards, up until the point he laterals it. Everyone else who possesses the ball is credited with receiving yards (positive or negative) until giving it up, but is not given a reception. For example, the official box score has Trubisky, who grabbed Cohen’s initial lateral and advanced the ball before lateraling to Horsted, for five receiving yards but no catches. All the yards gained on the play go on the QB’s passing yards, because it started with a pass reception. This way, the team’s total receiving yards still match the QB’s passing yards when it’s all said and done. The general concept is the same if it’s a running play followed by laterals.


Bill from Reedsville, WI


I was glad Dan from Wausau asked the question about the last play of the game. You gave a really good explanation. I believe that happened in a Raiders playoff game years ago. Dave Casper from Chilton fumbled before the end zone into the end zone and another Raider recovered it in the end zone to win the game. I think it is called the Dave Casper rule.


It was the “Holy Roller” play, Raiders at Chargers, Sept. 1978 (not the playoffs). On the last play of the game, Oakland QB Ken Stabler fumbled the ball forward, teammate Pete Banaszak “fumbled” it forward even further while acting like he was falling on it, and Casper recovered in the end zone. It was ruled a touchdown, and it led to the rule change that fumbles in the last two minutes of either half can only be advanced by the person who fumbled it.


Kevin from Holmen, WI


On the A-Rod penalty for intentional grounding, what's the rule when the QB's arm is hit while throwing, if at all? I mean, he was out of the pocket, was throwing towards the line, and we see QB hits causing bad throws all the time, with no penalty. Please clarify?


If there’s clearly an intended receiver, there’s no intentional grounding if the QB’s arm is hit and the ball goes nowhere near the target. But if the QB is just throwing it away from outside the pocket, he has to be able get it to the line of scrimmage or the defense is rewarded for the play – either a sack if he doesn’t try to throw it or intentional grounding if the defender prevented the throw from going far enough.


Tom from Dollar Bay, MI


Spoff, I agree that even at 7-9 a division winner deserves a spot in the show. My thought is if the wild-card team has a better record, they should host the game. Kind of a hybrid theory to mitigate the reward to mediocre divisions.


I could see that, and I didn’t want my long explanation Monday to preclude this potential suggestion, so I’m sorry if I misled anybody. I responded to an insistence that winning a division should be meaningless if the record isn’t good enough, which goes counter to the league’s entire scheduling formula. That aside, the idea mentioned here has come up numerous times before but gotten no momentum in league circles. Everything I’ve read indicates the owners want division winners rewarded with a home playoff game, period.


David from Philadelphia, PA


I know a lot of coaches have had great seasons, Mike Tomlin in particular without a franchise QB. But why is there no discussion of ML as coach of the year? Most coaches win it because they turn a team around that was a disaster last year. The Packers may not have looked good winning at times but they're still going to be an 11- or 12- (maybe 13-) win team.


I’ve said before there are several strong candidates for coach of the year, and I believe LaFleur is one of them. I also don’t think he’s going to win because he has Aaron Rodgers. Not saying that’s right or wrong, just how I think it’ll play out. In that vein, I do find it funny there’s one narrative out there that LaFleur has benefited greatly as a first-year coach by having an elite QB, while others are claiming Rodgers is no longer elite. I hereby declare the pundits can’t have it both ways.


Cindy from Oshkosh, WI


The Vikings have won their last two games handily. The Packers have won their last two games kinda ugly. The Packers haven't won in Minnesota. Kirk Cousins hasn't won on Monday night. Something's gotta give. The playoffs start Monday night.


I can appreciate the sentiment. This game is in all likelihood the difference between the Packers playing the first weekend in January, or advancing already to the second. Happy Wednesday.


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