I don’t know what to say, but it’s step week and we’re all in a mess.

Bruv, you’re not the one responsible for writing the Saturday box during the bye week.

Hello II! What changes do you think the Packers will make following the bye? I remember they moved Clay Matthews to another position from the bye one year. Do you feel they will make a change at the linebacker position? Edgerrin Cooper played well and Quay Walker didn’t. Cooper seems to shoot through holes faster than Walker. Which one do you think played better given the chance? Say hello to your old friend, the couch, on Sunday.

The Packers need to be healthy at some critical spots, but don’t foresee massive changes coming after the bye. As for inside linebacker, it’s a lot to ask of a rookie to play “Mike.” Krys Barnes did it in 2020, but it’s a massive undertaking. Personally, I like the way the Packers use Cooper in Year 1. This usage allows the rookie second-round pick to play fast and loose without having to communicate with the defense. It makes it harder for them to account for the offense as well.

I liked Mike’s answer to Kemp’s question. I was going over the play-by-play of the Detroit game and imploring others to do the same. It really allowed me to see how short the game is despite how long it appears on the show. When you say good or great players play great, you’re only talking about a handful of great plays or key mistakes that can make a team look great or miserable. A pick-6 can be a 12-point swing. That’s almost 30% of all points scored in a game on average.

That’s what I was referring to in my Jared Goff response, which Spoff nailed. I should have avoided the “M” word because I wasn’t calling Goff a game manager. My point was that he allowed the Lions to keep the lead with his efficiency. Detroit takes the air out of the game and drains the clock, which has been the recipe perfected by Tom Brady and Co. so many years in New England.

Rick from Trempealeau, WI

I’m not sure if this qualifies as math, which is verboten, but how much younger is the youngest team in the NFL after Preston Smith’s exit?

He’s probably down a few decimal places, but a 31-year-old on a 53-man roster isn’t going to drastically change the numbers.

Don’t you think Preston Smith was worth more than a future seventh round pick?

It’s bigger than that, Rick. You also have to consider Smith’s contract.

Wes, I didn’t realize how special Ahman Green was compared to all the other RBs who suited up for the green and gold. How would he fare in today’s NFL?

It would be even better in today’s NFL. Green and Mike Sherman were way ahead of the curve, using an All-Pro running back as a weapon in the passing game.

MarShawn Lloyd has been out for a long time with an ankle injury. It seems that players can usually recover quickly with this injury. How much of him not being on the roster is due to rebounding from the “numbers game” player? With Chris Brooks being better than expected, didn’t having a healthy Josh Jacobs, Brooks and Emanuel Wilson necessitate bringing back Lloyd? Did keeping Lloyd on IR help them avoid exposing a guy like Brooks to being picked up by another team?

The Packers aren’t keeping their third-round rookie pick on IR because of a “numbers” game. Lloyd is injured. Now, I haven’t been in the MRI machine with him to know the extent of his injury, but the guy is hurt. Based on what Brian Gutekunst said on Tuesday, however, it appears that Lloyd is closing in on a comeback. It will return to 53 when it is eliminated.

Mike from New Orleans, LA

BG was asked about the open roster spot and said something about waiting to see how Lloyd goes. Is there a requirement that each team give a total of 53? Hypothetically, could a team in serious trouble only have 52? 45?

I don’t think there’s any requirement to be 53 anymore, but it’s to a team’s detriment not to use all of their roster spots. A few minimum base salaries at the bottom of the 53 have a marginal effect on the salary cap. I remember there was a rule before COVID-19 that said a team couldn’t have a veteran exempt player on their practice squad if there was an open spot on the active roster.

Brandon from Imperial, MO

Good morning, Bill from Clive, IA asked about average yards per game to better quantify eras of different season lengths. I’m too young to have seen JT play (he was my dad’s favorite player) but I would also mention that the NFL was a much different place in the 60’s. Everyone knew the Packers were going to make a run, but they couldn’t stop him. Compared to the play action and misdirection of the modern NFL, it was much more difficult to get yards when the D is waiting for you.

Yes and no. While the proliferation of passing attacks in today’s NFL wasn’t around then, teams still varied their looks to keep defenses off balance. For example, it’s not like the Packers just lined up in the I formation 25 times and ran it in the gut for three hours. They mixed it up too.