Inbox: They believed in one another from the start

[Cheesehead]

Josh from Salt Springs, New Brunswick


Neophytes. Well done, sir. That is not a word thrown around often.


Every once in a while.


Rich from Grand Rapids, MI


This team just feels different. For the past several years, it has felt to me that the team will do only as well as Rodgers performs. In those years, I always felt better with the Pack trailing and ARod with the ball on the last drive of the game rather than hoping for the D to make a stop. For the first time in a long time, our D has given me every confidence that they can win game at least as reliably as the Rodgers-led offense. And now we even have a return game ...


The evolution of this team and the ebbs and flows of the season have been fascinating, really. The defense dominated early, then the offense got going in October, both lulled considerably in November, the defense pulled its way out down the stretch while the special teams built a return game but the offense hasn’t quite found itself, yet. There’s still another chapter to go.


Paul from Farnborough, UK


Dear Wes/Spoff, just to flip it around, what do you think the Seahawks are most worried about when they play us at Lambeau on Sunday?


If I were to boil it down to two names, I’d say Aaron Jones and Za'Darius Smith.


Scotty from Lombard, IL


Hi Insiders, when we tackle the ball carrier, we usually win. When we don't, we give up more yardage and keep the other team on the field longer. I know this sounds simple, but regardless of all the rule changes and schemes, our game is still a game of blocking and tackling, and the team that does a better job of it, usually wins.


I thought fans claimed fundamentals are boring.


Tommy from Pittsburgh, PA


What is the most memorable divisional round game in Packers history?


Wow, I don’t know how to pick one. There are so many memories, some to cherish, others not so much. On the one side, you have the scoop-and-score to start it all in San Fran, Desmond and Edgar in the Lambeau mud, Grant in the snow, the Atlanta masterpiece, the Dez no-catch and Rodgers-to-Cook-to-Crosby. On the other, you have six INTs in St. Louis, 4th-and-26, the 15-1 letdown, plus read-option horrors and the unfinished Hail Mary miracle out west. That’s too much history to arbitrarily narrow down.


Karen from Everett, PA


Mike, I think it was you who wrote (and I’m paraphrasing): I felt bad for Packer fans...Vic used to get angry when asked about how he “saw” the game. I don’t think anybody was accusing him of lying; I think we just don’t understand how beat writers “watch” sports. I would LOVE to watch a game through your eyes, btw! My questions are: At one point (I assume) you were “just a fan,” do you miss being able to watch games with that perspective? Or did you always have a writer’s viewpoint?


Well, I’ve been a sports writer for almost 25 years now, so even when I’m watching teams I root for but don’t cover (like the Brewers and Badgers), my mind is always constructing the story of how the game unfolded through key moments, important decisions, etc. It’s just how I’m wired. The easiest thing to lose sight of in pure fan mode is the big picture, because, in a nutshell, you sat down that day to watch your team win. In a job like this, losing the big-picture perspective is a disservice to your readers, and keeping it I believe makes anyone a better fan.


Ray from Clark, NJ


Mike, how often and when was the last time both the fifth and sixth seeds played on divisional weekend?


Three of the four 5-6 seeds won their wild-card games last year, just like this year. All four made it through the first round as recently as 2015, including both the Packers and Seahawks that year.


Keith from Yorktown, VA


Only one repeater from last’s year final eight will be playing this weekend, the first time there have been fewer than two. If that doesn’t make it clear you can’t take anything for granted in the NFL, nothing does.


I hadn’t realized that, but it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.


Jeremiah from Denver, CO


The details of an offense's timing and the QB/WR being on the same page must be extraordinarily nuanced with a sliver of room for error, etc. Can you elaborate and provide some details on what makes timing so challenging?


The defense.


Ross from Hudson, WI


Regardless of the outcome the 2019-20 Packers will be remembered as a true team. Not three separate teams but one inseparable unit. Scrappy, tenacious and enduring, this group has overcome a bevy of obstacles to a truly astonishing record. To what or whom can this coalesce be attributed?


I think winning their first two games, against division opponents, at the wire, had a lot to do with it. They believed in one another from the start.


Jay from Brookfield, CT


I have read all about ugly wins. My quote for this year is a win is a win. And as you guys have been saying, 13-3 is pretty darn good. So I propose the following: We are 13-3 without all three phases playing one complete game. That game is coming and so I am feeling confident about our chances for a Super Bowl appearance. Am I wrong?


LaFleur reiterated this week “putting four quarters of consistent football in all three phases” together hasn’t happened yet. It’s still out there for this team.