Wes, I have seen one pundit predict a 9-8 finish for the Packers. That has served to reinforce for me: how tough the schedule looks based on what we know right now; and we really have no idea how this will play out. The Packers are 0-0, looking to go 1-0 on Sept. 7. Let the conjecture continue! What is the main thing between now and OTAs?
Avoiding headaches? Oh wait – strike that…the owners voted on the tush push at the NFL spring meetings. So…what do you wanna talk about?
Jon from Soldiers Grove, WI
What’s the appropriate response to the tush push not being banned? Run it successfully? Push the Eagles tush into next week? Or reimplementing the flying wedge?
It’s legal, at least for another season…so you try to do it better than anybody else. The funniest part of this whole ordeal is I never cared about the tush-push until the NFC title game and then the backlash to the Packers’ proposal. That’s when I turned from ambivalence to being in favor of the ban. The tush-push remains in play for 2025, but 22 votes in favor of banning the play tells me one thing: Winter is coming.
Now that the NFL has decided that it’s OK for large people to push the quarterback forward in short-yardage situations, do you suppose there’ll be job openings for otherwise unqualified 400-pound linemen?
I do think we’re going to see a lot more teams trying it next season. Again, the rulebook allows it. You’d be foolish not to. The Packers have an ace up their sleeve with Tucker Kraft. I’m sure Matt LaFleur and Co. will continue to explore their own variations, including Kraft’s utilization. At the end of the day, 10 teams are getting what they asked for. We’ll see how it plays out.
Banning the tush push wouldn’t affect the Eagles because Hurts would be hard to stop on a normal QB sneak with his leg strength anyways. Unfortunately, the teams are hung up on that. I can’t see how pushing/pulling a runner anywhere on the field is a football play. How much more of an advantage do offenses need in this game?
The league let the toothpaste out of the tube with the 2005 rule change and only now is it starting to clean the sink. Again, props to the Eagles for taking advantage of it and executing the push at a high rate of efficiency.
I, for one, am glad to see that the “Tush Push” was not banned.
Got it. I marked you down.
So, we keep the tush push, which benefits the Bills and Eagles who, combined, ran it more than the rest of the league. What I found was odd was that while the Commanders, Cowboys, and Giants all smartly tried to ban it and hinder their division opponent, the Patriots, Jets, and Dolphins all voted to keep it. Any guesses as to why the NFC East voted against their own interests? It’s not like Josh Allen is going anywhere anytime soon.
Not a clue, but Allen has rushed for 1,576 yards and 18 touchdowns on 274 carries (5.8 yards per attempt) against those three teams since he entered the league. Perhaps short-yardage situations are the least of the AFC East’s concern in regards to how to defend the NFL MVP.
Kyle from St. Charles, MO
Is anyone else already tired of the “crybaby” moniker being bestowed upon the Packers with regard to the tush push? Pundits and fans latching on to some false narrative that, “Well, we can’t stop it so let’s get rid of it” is so frustrating and lazy. For the record, I never had an issue with the play until the mockery against Washington. That was embarrassing. I’m not surprised the play remains, but somewhat annoyed the organization will be hearing it all season.
I could not possibly care less. If anything, I think all the insults are a subtle admission of how vulnerable Eagles fans feel about the future of the play. Yes, the Packers proposed it, but two-thirds of the league voted in support of the ban. Again…tick tock. Moving on…
What’s going on with a wideout being No. 22? Just doesn’t look right.
There’s actually heartwarming reason behind it. But however you feel about it, you better get used to NFL players wearing unorthodox numbers. The league opened that door to players now and plenty are walking right through.
With rookie WRs showing rapid acclimation to NFL, what would be realistic expectations of GB’s rookies?
Everyone wants rookie wideouts to perform like Justin Jefferson, Malik Nabers or Brian Thomas Jr. on Day 1. But realistically, it’s more about what Matthew Golden and Savion Williams do when given opportunities. It’s watching them with your eyes and not just looking at a stat sheet. Because to me, there’s only one question worth asking when it comes to rookies: “Is this guy getting better?” through the course of the year. That’s how Davante Adams first caught my eye in 2014 despite the fact he only finished with 446 receiving yards and three TDs. Adams excelled as a complementary third option during Jordy Nelson’s and Randall Cobb’s career seasons.
Austin from Stevens Point, WI
What type of impact are we expecting Matthew Golden to make right away to our offense?
Again, maybe Golden makes a significant impact right off the bat, but that shouldn’t be the expectation. He’s a true junior making a quantum leap to the NFL and the Packers are deep enough at receiver that it doesn’t have to be all on Golden. So, I see him as a vertical deep threat out of the gate like Marquez Valdes-Scantling in 2018 and Christian Watson in 2022.
We’ve been told that the pro game is just “different” than the college game. At what point do the rookies experience this reality? OTAs? Training camp? Preseason? Regular season? Other?
Definitely when the pads go on during training camp. Physicality obviously ramps up in the trenches but pads also slow skill-position players down.
Steve from Toronto, Canada
I was a big fan of Luke Musgrave coming out of Oregon State in ’23; his combination of size and speed could be a tremendous asset to any offense. While his sophomore season was derailed by injury, we saw his fellow draftmate Tucker Kraft carve out an even larger role for himself in the offense. Considering Kraft’s emergence and the WR room looking even more crowded than last year, is there still enough room for Musgrave to have a significant role? His skillset is just too valuable to shelve.
Absolutely. The Packers have left the tight end room unchanged from how they finished the season. They wouldn’t have done that if they didn’t think Musgrave could bounce back and serve as a perfect complement to Kraft.