Inbox: Packers are going to get Bears' best game

[Cheesehead]

Scott from Lincoln City, OR


Reflective morning, Mike. Instead of clocking the ball with 43 seconds left and wasting a down, wouldn't it have been better to try the back-of-the-end-zone pass to Davante Adams then? Clock stops on touchdown or incompletion. Just hoping things are done differently if/when the situation presents itself again.


LaFleur blamed himself Monday for not having a red-zone play ready to take a shot at the end zone on first down rather than spiking the ball.


James from Appleton, WI


Well, the Packers gained some valuable, specific points of emphasis to work on, and I'm glad those points came up before the Bears game and not during the Bears game. It seemed that, to counter Rivers' quick, short passes, the Packers stressed getting the defenders' arms up to block the passing lane. Were the Packers' pass rushers doing that more than usual? I thought it made a real difference in the game.


It did, but they emphasize that all the time. The odds of a deflection just go up against a guy like Rivers with a funky throwing motion and lower release point.


Codi from Appleton, WI


How does the outlook of the team's late-season performance change when losses are of such small margins? LaFleur had been blown out in all of his losses last season, but a 28-22 vs. MN and now an OT defeat. If I recall correctly, every game lost in the 2011 season was by seven points or less. I think there's more character to be built in these close games, and the team's ability to try to lift Marquez Valdes-Scantling post-heartbreaking mistake speaks well for our postseason chances.


The stat you're recalling is that in 2010, the Packers never trailed in any game by more than seven points. Aside from the length of the IR list, it's still the most impressive stat about that team. As for the MVS fallout, I'm not going to overdo it because during the last couple of days, Wes and I have both posted in II and written stories examining it. But I will add this: Certain events have been known to galvanize or fracture teams. A similar moment occurred in late October two years ago in a tie game at Los Angeles, but the aftermath within the team was starkly different. This squad is in a different place and I'm very curious to where this goes.


Greg from Chicago, IL


Hi guys, that game was about as entertaining as it gets. So easy to armchair these from the comfort of a Tuesday lunch but when I saw Aaron Rodgers going to MVS on that swing pass in OT, I was surprised. Maybe they've used that play before, but it just seemed the moment might have been better suited for a tested veteran. I can see using Adams as a decoy there but just thought Jamaal Williams, Jones or even Allen Lazard would have been my choice. I guess it speaks to Coach's confidence in MVS.


It does, and to the fact that they ran the play in the second quarter to Equanimeous St. Brown and got 23 yards. The Colts reacted to it better and the Packers didn't block it as well.


Jake from Albuquerque, NM


I am old-school. What the heck is "social media" and why is it referred to as a sewer?


How I wish I could be so blissfully ignorant. Personally, I would have absolutely nothing to do with social media if it weren't necessary for work.


Steven from Silver Spring, MD


In prior losses the theme has been how our blocking unit on offense was overwhelmed by a dominant front seven. Despite the loss I was encouraged to see that we finally got first-half production against a playoff-caliber front seven. In that fateful second half it did not seem we were overwhelmed but just failed to execute on what were open passes.


I'm not sure how open they were, but it was a failure of execution regardless. The second-half offensive struggles in Indy were nothing like what occurred in Tampa and San Francisco the past couple of years, I would agree.


Dave from Lake Zurich, IL


If Corey Linsley has a chronic back issue, as I believe one of the TV announcers said on Sunday, would this hurt his bargaining power?


With some teams it might. With others it might not. I can't speak to how the Packers would view it. They know all of Linsley's history, which includes not missing a start since 2016.