What are the Packers’ goals for Week 18?

With the first game 17 this week, is it going to be annoying to put an asterisk on all of the new records?

That won’t happen, and eventually we’ll all just consider 17 games the norm.

Hi Mike. When I see the incredible productivity of the content that you post plus In Box and pod casts and WWYM and live day blogs, I assume you must be putting in a one hundred hour work week. Thank you so much for all of it.

Appreciate that. It’s not quite a hundred, but I do have to manage my time in order to make it all work and still sleep at home, LOL.

Do you know if there’s been any change to the run-blocking scheme with the shifts in the OL this year? Are we seeing less zone blocking? Thoughts on the impact in run production versus last year?

I think the Packers have changed it up more, sprinkling in gap concepts to go with the inside and outside zone looks. Inside zone is still their best, most of the time, but they’ve been effective multiple ways running the ball, and that bodes well.

Thanks to Packers.com I’ve learned so much more about football. Everyone watches the splash specialist players, but knowing more about both lines and how they truly impact games has given me more to watch.

The longer I do this the more I learn, too. And then when I think I’ve made progress, I’ll overhear a coach or player talking shop, so to speak, and I’ll realize how they all just see and play the game on an entirely different level from the rest of us.

Do you have any John Madden anecdotes or memorable sayings to game calls that stick with you ?

Not really, but I did enjoy listening to him call games when I was learning about the game in middle school, high school, etc. He and Summerall were the absolute best back then.

How have your film breakdowns evolved over the years? Do you ever wrangle a coach to sit in with you for his perspective?

I would love to do that sometime, but during the season they’re way too busy for that, and in the offseason I need to get away from the minutiae of it all to recharge for the next year.

Hey Mike, love the in-game blog. Whether I am able to watch the game or not, I am right with you the whole time on the blog. Quick clarification on a rule . . . when the Packers throw the quick swing pass/quick out and the receivers are blocking even before the ball is caught, they can do that as long as the pass is caught behind the LOS? If it was caught downfield it would be OPI?

Not exactly. My understanding is they can block a tad early as long as they’re within a yard of the line of scrimmage.

Mike, I just wanted to let you know how much you and Wes are appreciated by all of us at II. Reading the II is a part of my daily routine and I love the insight you and Wes provide.

Thanks for the kind words. We wouldn’t have a column without an audience.

Great piece by Wes on Allen Lazard. Should our new strategy moving forward be to get him 4 catches on the first drive of the game?

Ha. I thought that was a pretty good stat Wes uncovered. I think it speaks to just how well the offense is functioning as a whole when Lazard is involved to a certain degree.

Considering the Packers playoff spot is locked up, Detroit has no motivation to actually win this game, right? Even if the Packers are resting players, you’d think the Lions would want to preserve their draft position since there is no “spoiler” role available this week.

The Lions will get either the first or second pick, and they can only get the first if the Jags beat the Colts, which is highly unlikely.

Was the game against Minnesota the first game this year where neither the Packers or opponent have had a turnover? I also noticed there were only 3 maybe 4, penalties called the entire game. Maybe the SIX officials were cold and wanted to keep things moving!

It was rare to see no turnovers, especially in those conditions. I commented in Inbox this morning how refreshing it was to see so few penalties. It makes the game much more enjoyable. The game is better when only the penalties that materially affect a play are called.

Besides Wes, who do you work with the closest at GBP?

Duke is our digital manager, Joidon handles a lot of technical stuff on the website, and Jen is our intern. Those are the folks I work with most. Then with the video components, it’s several people, beginning with Marvin, our Unscripted producer, and there are rotating folks that handle the cameras for Final Thoughts, etc. It’s a great group of people and I can’t say enough how fun it is to work with this bunch.

Besides Adams’ opportunity to beat Jordy’s single-season receiving yards record, and Rodgers’ solidifying his MVP resume, are there any other records you’re aware of the Packers can break this week?

I haven’t looked closely enough at that yet, but I intend to later today or tomorrow.

How does your wife handle you working so many long hours during the season?

does your family read the inbox or the mid-week chat? has any family member submitted a question to you?

Sometimes my son and/or dad are on the live blog during the game. Wife and daughter, nah.

Do you want to travel to away games again? Or does the ubiquity of the COVID virus make you feel better about staying home at present?

When we get back to fully in-person postgame access with press conferences and locker room access, I definitely want to travel to games again. But with so much postgame access being virtual, it’s actually easier to do my job from here when the team is on the road.

All right, folks, I’ve got to sign off and get ready for LaFleur’s presser. Thanks for all the questions today and we’ll talk again soon.