Cheesehead
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
- 2,854
- 0
Patsi from Riverside, CA
All the best in the world to LeRoy Butler. Hoping that the third time is the charm.
Unfortunately for Butler, I think fellow safeties John Lynch and Steve Atwater, who have been finalists in recent years, will have to get in before Butler moves up in the process. I’ve got nothing against Atwater, but I can’t help but wonder if a big reason he has reached the finalist stage but Butler hasn’t yet is simply the Super Bowl XXXII result. They’re both on the 1990s All-Decade Team. Atwater had eight Pro Bowls to Butler’s four, but Butler was a first-team All-Pro four times to Atwater’s two (plus one second-team selection). Butler had 38 interceptions and 20½ sacks in 12 years to Atwater’s 24 picks and five sacks in 11 seasons. What’s the perception if the 2-1 in rings is flipped?
Steve from W. Terre Haute, IN
Do you think the ridiculous call against Adams was a result of the referees' "point of emphasis" following the Browns-Steelers WWE Smackdown?
You aren’t the only reader to suggest the officials were on high alert, particularly in a prime-time game.
Alex from Columbia, MD
Wes and Kevin from Lake Forest, IL, it is fair to arbitrarily play the same interconference division because you should face a similar schedule to win your own division. You don't want the bottom team having a potentially much easier schedule by an additional four games. The 17th game should come from the interconference division same spot you played last year or next year's. Then we may have seen some more games with Rodgers vs. Brady than every four years (home every eight), for example.
I agree on all counts, as do a slew of other Inboxers.
Joe from Cocoa Beach, FL
Longtime reader, first time writing. This is in response to questions about a 17-game schedule. I read an article years ago (around the last CBA) that the NFL wants the Super Bowl on Presidents’ weekend (no work Monday for the majority). The writer said that 17 games with two byes puts it there. Two bye weeks also eliminates the quick recoup time of the Thursdays games, as they would be sandwiched in between a bye week.
I know a lot of people, myself included, who don’t get Presidents’ Day off, but I hear what you’re saying. If the preseason, and therefore training camp, is shortened by a week or more, I could see the players buying in. That would drive coaches crazy from a prep standpoint, but as with the offseason limits imposed in the last CBA, they’ve got no seat at the table.
Alan from Los Angeles, CA
The Packers continue to make the same mistakes and show no improvement in the same areas week after week. How can a team have negative yardage on punt returns for the season? This horrific statistic goes directly to coaching. How can a team with a great pass rush continue to blow coverages with tight ends running wide open in the middle of the field? It’s fine to issue mea culpas and sing kumbaya from the podium but when does accountability and decisive action occur?
What exactly would you like done after 12 weeks? Bench players who screw up and replace them with less talented backups? Send assistant coaches packing and start over at certain position groups with five games to go? Get real. That’s not how this works when you’re 8-3 and you’ve played two bad games out of 11. You pick yourself up and get back to work. Coaches have to plan, teach and demand. Players have to prepare and perform. Never forget the other guys get paid, too.
Steve from Wellington, FL
Help us understand better – how are the Arizona Cardinals able to play against and almost beat the 49ers twice this season, yet the Packers looked like a high school JV team against them?
I’ve always believed division games are another animal. Those are the opponents that know each other best, so the games are different (except maybe in the AFC East). With the exception of one, all of the 49ers’ close contests this year have been NFC West games. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
Craig from Appleton, WI
With the Rams loss on Monday night do you feel the NFC playoff field is essentially set and the teams are now playing for seeding?
That’s exactly what Wes and I discussed on Tuesday’s “Unscripted.” Other than the Philly-Dallas tussle in the NFC East, which is still very much up in the air, it looks clear who’s getting in. Anything can happen, but it’ll take a big collapse by one of the five teams with the top marks in the NFC for someone else to become a serious contender.
Mike from Marquette, MI
From Tuesday's II: "Green Bay needs to put its foot back on the gas and take care of business against New York, Washington and Chicago, who have as many combined wins (eight) as the Packers." The schedule just got even tougher – they have nine combined wins!
Wes (and his editor) stand corrected.
Bruce from Bloomington, IL
Interesting reading the II the last couple days. You did a good job of diffusing the theory that the poor officiating had an impact on the outcome. Niners have more talent. It would've taken much more than a few changes to the officials’ calls to have kept us in that game. The league's draft order plan is getting the desired result. A team that's down multiple years in a row has a chance to build elite talent and rise. Niners used it, Browns haven't. GB staying near the top beats the odds.
Two down years still didn’t produce a double-digit loss season, and I think there’s something to be said for that. The Packers have had just two double-digit loss seasons since 1992 (2005, ’08). I know some fans wanted to tank last year for a better draft pick rather than win two December games, but I’ll never believe that approach should be anyone’s intent.