Packers fans, here's the solution

"Ask Vic" will publish on Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the football season.

Zahir from London, UK
At least Minnesota lost. Imagine how good the Jags would be if they had Rodgers.
It's almost not possible to have a great defense and a break-the-bank quarterback, too. The cap won't allow it, and that's why a salary cap team can't be as good as a pre-cap team; salary cap teams can't be complete. A salary cap team can't have Starr, Hornung, Taylor, Gregg, Ringo, Nitschke, Davis, Adderley, Robinson, Wood, etc. on it. Half of those guys would have to go. Today, it would be Swann or Stallworth, not both. Lambert or Ham, not both. Greene or Greenwood, not both. Bradshaw or Blount, not both. The trick in the salary cap era is to find a way to mask your weakness. Every team has one.

Joachim from Kassel, Germany
I have now reluctantly accepted we all live in a league of the passer, by the passer and for the passer. How far down this road can you see the NFL going, Vic?
I think 6,000 yards passing in a season is right around the corner.

Alex from Milwaukee, WI
Another one bites the dust, Vic. Is this game football anymore? Fans make investments in their chosen team. When the return on my investment is something I do not even recognize, I am done. I am a football purist. Obviously, I am not done, but I can not take more of this. Will the NFL walk this back?
No, it won't. How do you put this rabbit back in the hat? This is the way it is and this is the way it will continue to be. Are you done or not? You have a decision to make, because I can't take more of this whining. My inbox is full of it. Every time the Packers don't win, the fans blame it on the league for changing the game. As I recall, the Packers weren't very good on defense before the rule change. Couldn't sack has been replaced by can't sack. What's different? Again, one play wasn't the difference in the game. Alex Smith and Adrian Peterson had combined for 300 yards of offense in the first half on Sunday.

Dillon from Indianapolis, IN
How does a pass rusher comply with the NFL's new rules? I have to admit, I have no idea what the officials are looking for to be considered a clean hit due to the inconsistency I see in the explanations.
The coaches know. The NFL spent the offseason teaching coaches how to instruct their players to comply with the new pass-rushing rule. You may not "burp" the quarterback. Wrap, lift and drive has been replaced by wrap, lift and let him fall. It's a technique that has to be taught, mastered.

David from San Francisco, CA
You’ve previously written of your concern for the level of talent in the upcoming generation of quarterbacks. Have the first three weeks of this season done enough to make you believe otherwise?
Yes. It's never been easier to play quarterback. In this league, rookie quarterbacks are stars in their first game. In this league, Ryan Fitzpatrick has a 151.5 passer rating. In this league, Dick Shiner would've been a $20 million quarterback.

Randall from Sun Prairie, WI
Rodgers is injured and he is the Packers. I can see Green Bay turning in games like this, but what the heck happened to the Vikings?
They might've eaten the pizza.

William from Park City, UT
Blame it on Capers?
The wolves are howling for the league now.

Jake from Knoxville, TN
How late in the season will we have to wait before we can tell if Brady has fallen off his cliff?
He looked old in the last two games, especially last night. It can happen that quickly. Joe Greene was the most dominant defensive player I ever covered. All of a sudden, he couldn't get off a block.

Noah from Maine, WI
Vic, what do you think is causing the high amount of parity we are seeing in the NFL so far this year?
The league has leveled the playing field by creating a game that protects quarterbacks and receivers, and hamstrings rushers and pass defenders. The result is every team has a Tom Brady or an Aaron Rodgers.

Craig from Cedarburg, WI
What was the biggest surprise of the weekend?
I'm stunned by the Jaguars loss to the Titans. Coming off that rousing win over the Patriots, in which Blake Bortles played so well, and going up against a Titans team with Blaine Gabbert as its starting quarterback, I expected the Jags to blow out the Titans. Allow only nine points and lose? That's ridiculous.

Ben from Indianapolis, IN
We can blame the officials until our faces are blue, however, in your opinion, what do the Packers need to have a good defense?
Time will fix the problem, in terms of either development or drafting. Last week, Kirk Cousins lit them up. This week, it was Alex Smith and Adrian Peterson. Smith completed passes for a whopping 11.0-yard average. He wasn't sacked! In my mind, when you don't sack a guy, you don't have the right to complain about one roughing-the-passer call. Peterson averaged 6.3 yards per carry. This was a truly bad performance. I expect a much better showing against the Bills.

Jerry from Savannah, GA
Vic, what’s the solution?
The solution is it's time for every fan to be new. Forget about football as you've known it. Don't apply the old standards. Pad level doesn't matter anymore. The rules don't allow a player to strike the rising blow. Coming off the ball low and hard has been replaced by slide and wall. Quarterbacks aren't the trophy and he must not go down hard. Football is no longer first and foremost a running game, and a seal here and a seal here have been replaced by a checkdown here and a rub route there. We have to find the human confrontation in different ways. I don't like it, either, but I'm working at it and I encourage everyone else to do the same.

Joe from Bloomington, IN
Does Coach McCarthy need to change his mindset about the new rules?
I think it's a mistake to say we won't change how we teach tackling. It sends the wrong message to your players and to the league. Resistance isn't the right attitude. Acceptance and compliance will win. "The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast. For the times they are a changin'."

Sean from Baltimore, MD
Seven of the 12 quarters so far have been downright bad. This is not a good football team. Your thoughts on the state of the Packers?
They are who we thought they are. Defense and the running game went into yesterday's game ranked 24th and 25th respectively. It's all on Aaron Rodgers and the passing game, again. Can the Packers make it back to the playoffs that way? Rodgers would have to have a heckuva year, but he's done it before. In my opinion, we need to see more balance. When the defense and the running game improve, the Packers will be a better football team. Until then, they remain a one-trick pony.

Joe from De Pere, WI
I have never been so proud Mike McCarthy was coach of the Green Bay Packers as when I watched him run after and scream at the referee.
OK.

Jeremiah from Monmouth, IL
Are we witnessing the devaluation of the pass rusher?
We're witnessing the supply of quarterbacks being increased by a game that punishes defense.