The excitement is always there

What is preferable? Clinching the division with a month to spare, knowing that a top-four seed is already guaranteed? Or having the pressure in your own division until the end of the season with “no time to let off the gas”?

The cart comes after the horse, I feel. One way or another, the Packers need to win these three NFC North games to have a shot at the top seed.

Samantha from Montgomery, IL

Why does it take so long to get season tickets?

I take it you’ve never stood in line on Black Friday for a Playstation before.

I wanted to throw a holiday thank you to Mike and Wes for two things. One is for not engaging in hyperbole like so much of the national media these days. Second, thanks for your patience with the submittals on next year’s cap. I’m numbers oriented, and I was one of those people looking at it before this season even started. You guys are right – worry about it next year.

Correct. We’re already down the river. The Packers can’t do much about their cap situation next year, but what they have right now is a chance at a Super Bowl.

Who’s going to get the practice reps behind center this week?

It’s a huge week for Kurt Benkert. He’ll probably get more first-team reps Wednesday than he’s taken since signing with the Packers in May. Love previously stated he is vaccinated, meaning he could be back on Saturday if he’s asymptomatic and passes through the protocol. In the meantime, we’ll have to see whether Green Bay makes a call to Blake Bortles or someone else to get a second arm for practice this week if Rodgers sits again.

Was No. 21 considered to be retired with Charles Woodson’s HOF induction?

If it was, then Eric Stokes and the equipment staff didn’t get the notice.

Have there been increased COVID cases from teams coming off the bye week? Seems like it’s starting to become a factor yet again.

I mean, it’s become a factor everywhere, not just NFL locker rooms. Adam Schefter said there were 11 positive cases Monday. This will continue to be a challenge for teams to navigate, no different than injuries or winter viruses. You have to be smart and diligent. Prevention and mitigation will be key for contenders.

Before 1960, the Packers would have played an entire season with almost half another to go. That doesn’t include the playoffs. After 1978, they would only have two games left, not five. I can’t imagine how these players have the physical stamina and mental toughness to get out of bed Monday morning. Let alone practice. What does the team do to help the players (strength and conditioning coaches must be busy this time of year)?

The Packers don’t have designated STAA days like they once did under Mike McCarthy but rest, recovery and regeneration is a big part of the process of getting ready for games. Most players do a lot away from the facility, too, to take care of their bodies. It’s a daily emphasis. It has to be, especially now with a 17-game regular season.

Your response to Brian’s question from Friday about media in the locker room got me wondering: In pre-COVID times, was the 45 minutes per day of media availability required for every player, only particular players, or on a rotating basis? Separately, but in a similar vein, how is it decided which players speak to the media post-game? Obviously, No. 12 is a standard, but for the others, do they volunteer or are they tapped by the organization?

We had a pretty good routine going in the Packers’ locker room, especially as the season wore on. You could grab guys as they walked through. It wasn’t even about “interviews,” per se. Sometimes it was great to just chat with players and get to know them a little better. I don’t know the exact process for post-game but it’s pretty much been all the central players and playmakers this year.

I had two observations to Wes’s response to Lori from Brookfield this past weekend. First it was subtle but you said, “It’s neat to watch LaFleur settle into all the other aspects of the job,” meaning (and I agree) we haven’t seen his best yet! My second observation asks the question did Mike/Wes take the red pill or blue pill? Is Lori a “pseudonym” used to ask the question you have the perfect answer for? Or do any of us in the II exist outside of Mike’s/Wes’s keystrokes when needed? My head hurts. Maybe the answer will be revealed in “Resurrections.” Either way… Beat the Bears! GPG!

Oh, Lori is real and…an amazing being.