Truly enjoyed the Bullard article, but it brings to mind in the very near recent past of a few years ago when the safety position was an obvious weak link for the Pack. You could make the case now that the safety room may be one of if not the strongest of them all. Is that fair?

Yes. Where the Packers are now at safety compared to just two years ago is apples and orangutans.

Phillip Rivers is one year from HOF eligibility, and has signed with the Colts. He is currently on the practice squad, how does that affect his eligibility? Has a HOF player ever played in the NFL after they were selected to Hall of Fame?

Rivers was already named a semifinalist for Canton’s class of ’26, but his five-year wait will reset if/when Indy puts him on the active roster, which it sounds like could happen this weekend.

Any other colleges besides Oregon with three active and successful quarterbacks in the NFL (Nix, Herbert, Mariota)?

As far as current starters, I could only find schools with two: Louisville (Jackson, Shough), Cal (Rodgers, Goff), Bama (Young, Tua), Oklahoma (Hurts, Mayfield) and USC (Darnold, Williams).

Have you seen any stats that show the Packers’ defensive performance after the Packers go three-and-out on offense vs. any other result? It feels like this year’s defense (probably most defenses) perform better after a longer offensive drive, but I wondered if the statistics bear that out. Thanks!

ATMR (WCBW), the Packers have gone three-and-out and punted on offense 25 times this season. Following those, the opposition has scored only nine times (six TDs, three FGs, along with one missed FG, nine punts, three turnovers, two turnovers on downs, one end of half). That feels like it speaks highly of responding well in those situations. For what it’s worth, five of the nine scores have come in just two games – Pittsburgh (two FGs, one TD) and Chicago (two TDs).

Good morning, Insiders. Mike, how would you evaluate Xavier McKinney‘s season so far? His name isn’t popping up as often during broadcasts this year, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect his impact. What’s your read?

I’m still waiting for McKinney to be in coverage on a deep ball from the opposition. They just don’t challenge him when he’s back there. He’s been more active around the line of scrimmage and as a blitzer this year than last. We’ve also heard from Hafley how he’s not only the primary communicator but also the master disguiser for coverages, and his effectiveness is praised. Getting the QB to pause just an extra tick trying to figure out what the defense is running is a win.

Thaddeus from La Jolla, CA

Did anyone notice the play that Micah Parsons dropped back into coverage? There were two Bears linemen just standing there looking completely lost. It was hilarious.

That’s become an occasional change-up in Hafley’s front calls to, again, hopefully create a moment of pause if not confusion.

I realize the passes completed on the Bears’ last drive were on first and second down with another incomplete pass in between. With it most likely being their last drive and trailing by a TD why wasn’t the Packer defense playing pass first with so little time remaining?

The Bears took over on their own 26-yard line with 3:26 left and four timeouts (including the two-minute). The clock wasn’t a factor at the start of the drive.