Another question on kickoff return rules. You have to have two players in the landing zone, correct? Can they stand together at the kick, then have the preferred returner run to the ball? Or do they have to be split apart?

They can line up wherever you want, but if you have both guys in the middle of the field to execute the strategy you suggest, it would be very easy for a kicker to drill a low line drive to one side or the other that bounces into the end zone for a touchback on the 20. Because hang time is irrelevant on kickoffs now.

Hey boys. This isn’t necessarily related to Week 1 but I’m curious given how the broadcasters like to talk about coaching “trees” in the NFL. I’m probably forgetting a bunch, but do you consider Hafley to be the first true “branch” of MLF? Given he came from college and his first true HC shot came after being under LaFleur and his process/system. I know Matt inherited some quality guys when he first became our HC and they have gone on elsewhere but I guess I’m just wondering.

I don’t view Hafley as a branch from anyone’s tree. When he first jumped from college to the NFL, he was with Greg Schiano at Rutgers and went with him to Tampa Bay. Then he worked under Mike Pettine in Cleveland, and under Chip Kelly and Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, before going back to the college ranks (Ohio State, Boston College) and re-entering the NFL under LaFleur.

Great to see a college game at Lambeau, and it looked like a great environment for all. My wife was asking me how long it will take the ground crew to prep the field for a pro game since the hash marks and logo on the 50 need to be repainted.

That’s why the Packers don’t have a home game until Week 3. It was the same in 2016 after the Wisconsin-LSU game on Labor Day weekend.

Tallon from Castle Rock, CO

So glad football is finally back! From the locker room interviews it sure sounds like the Packers players have heard the outside noise and are looking forward to showing the world what they’ve been missing. What non-Packer game are you most looking forward to watching/hearing about? Bills-Texans is my pick.

That’s a good one. 49ers-Rams over in Australia on Thursday night is another, and I think Bears-Panthers in the early window Sunday will be a better game than most think.

There is a lot of national skepticism about the Packers this year. I’ve seen many more articles picking them third or even dead last. I know here in the II the outlook is much more positive. Is that because we follow our team more closely and have a better handle on the team or is it hopeful optimism? Thanks.

The outside narrative is the Packers don’t have Parsons and couldn’t win last year without him, there’s sizable uncertainty surrounding Jacobs, and this is a team that has fallen short of expectations the past two years, so the outside expectations are lower. It doesn’t mean anything, just as it didn’t mean anything two years ago when the Packers were everybody’s darling team on the rise after nearly reaching the NFC title game in the first year of the QB transition. Go play the games and see what happens.

Do you think we have a legit chance of beating the Vikings Week 1?

Depends what it would mean to have an illegit chance.

Week 1 is finally upon us, and baloney season is *almost over. I added the almost because even after Week 1, win or lose, there’s always SO much baloney (not the word I used in my mind) in response to the outcome. Care to give us fans your annual perspective check in this regard?

It’s called overreaction Monday for a reason.

Spoff’s great story on Micah Parsons’ “burden” has me viewing this season through a different lens. Even if his comeback takes longer than expected, the influence he is having on players like Van Ness and Sorrell can only elevate this team. Imagine elements of his engine infused throughout the defense! That could make for a very long season for opposing QBs. GPG!

I hope everyone enjoys my yearbook cover story, and I’m glad I had a chance to post it before the season starts. I really enjoyed my sit-down conversation with Parsons back in June and learned a lot more about how he views all this. Hopefully I conveyed it accurately.

Derek from Eau Claire, WI

Boy, oh boy, am I ready to say, “The baloney stops now.” But I won’t say baloney.

T-minus four days and counting. Happy Wednesday.