Trade for Khalil Mack?

Mikey from Tallahassee, FL
As preseason officially gets underway, are you watching any particular stories among the three teams you've covered?
The big story with the Packers is the development of a new defensive system and personnel. We begin to get a look at the early results tonight. The Steelers have two big issues: running back and defense. All eyes with be on James Conner at running back, where Le'Veon Bell's absence has become a troubling distraction. Defensively, the Steelers were soft most of last season and then embarrassingly ineffective late in the year following Ryan Shazier's season-ending injury. The Steelers drafted for defense. Will those picks give the Steelers what they need? The Jaguars only have one big issue, quarterback, and we're not likely to get the information we need on Blake Bortles until the regular season begins.

Grant from Wauwautosa, WI
Vic, what would Jermichael Finley have meant to the 2014 Packers?
Maybe he would've caught that third-down pass in Seattle in the 2014 NFC title game. Game over! I think Finley was the perfect big receiver in the middle of the field Mike McCarthy covets, and then he went over the middle against the Browns and his career was over. It was a big loss for the Packers.

Nick from Oswego, NY
Are the Browns finally ready to start winning some games?
Yes, they're ready to begin winning some games, but that's not the issue confronting them. When do they pull the plug on Tyrod Taylor and plug in Baker Mayfield? That's the real story in Cleveland and there's no avoiding it.

Carl from Blue Mounds, WI
Vic, you always say players, not plays. I believe this to be true but wonder what makes great players? Pure athletic talent? Intelligence to process a NFL playbook? Unrelenting work ethic? Luck to stay healthy? If you had to rank what makes an NFL player great, how would you rank those attributes?
Ability is No. 1. Toughness is No. 2. Then you can stir in all of those other ingredients, in any order you'd like.

Steve from Minocqua, WI
Vic, it’s been 10 years since the Packers traded Brett Favre. As a reporter looking at the drama from the outside back then, what were your thoughts and opinions about the matter?
It was a soap opera and an embarrassing distraction. The Packers did the right thing, they just did it the wrong way. They vacillated. They allowed Favre and the media to make the franchise look as though it was groveling. It was time to move on. They had their man and it was time to step into his future. I admire them for that awareness, and I remember writing as much in an in-game blog during a preseason game in 2007. Yeah, I was a year too soon with that remark, or was I?

Kris from Stockbridge, WI
Was Jim Caldwell fired too soon?
I believe he was. I think he had the Lions on the rise.

Rodney from Zillah, WA
Vic, If you were the Packers GM, would you trade their first-round pick next year for Khalil Mack? They would still have the Saints' first pick.
I don't subscribe to the one player away philosophy. I think it's a dangerous flirt with fate. First-round picks are gold, and two of them in one draft give a team maneuverability that can change the future. Picks, not players.

Ted from Bronkers, MS
Eric Weddle said run-pass options are a fad. He ended with this statement: "Teams that run the ball and take shots are usually the hard teams to beat." I liked the sound of that, Vic. How about you?
Pound and bomb is the best. It's the style of offense defenses fear the most because you have to bring a safety down to stop the pound, and when you do that you get the bomb.

Vincent from Seattle, WA
Vic, with Jerry Kramer finally in the Hall of Fame, do you have any Steelers from the past you feel should be selected?
I think Donnie Shell had a Hall of Fame career.

David from Madison, WI
What are your thoughts on executives getting enshrined?
The Hall of Fame is a marketing tool. That's why it was created and that's why I say the men who are selected to it need to be famous. Great players and coaches become household names. Front office executives? Not so much. There aren't many front office types whose selection to the Hall of Fame is going to excite fans or promote the game. I think the Pro Football Hall of Fame inducts too many members in its annual classes. When the average fan asks "who's that?" you've got a problem.

Adam from Chicago, IL
Which AFC South quarterback will have the best year in 2018?
Marcus Mariota.

Steve from Montclair, NJ
What would happen if football revenue decreased and, therefore, the salary cap decreased? If the contracted players' salaries exceed the new salary cap, what would the teams need to do?
Even if the cap decreased, I doubt it would decrease so dramatically teams couldn't achieve compliance without a few cuts or re-structures. I think you're curious as to how the league would handle a situation in which a team couldn't achieve cap compliance, which would've been the Jaguars' situation had it not been for the Texans expansion draft in 2002, and the Redskins were saved from that same circumstance by a new CBA. So, what happens when a team can't get under the cap? The league would void contracts in chronologically reverse order until the team is under the cap, and then it would likely forgive the dead money acceleration by slapping the team with a harsh fine and penalty in the form of lost draft picks.

Beth from Edisto Island, SC
Sponge or dish cloth?
Dish cloth, because the sponge is loaded with bacteria.

Rocco from Green Bay, WI
What are your favorite current rivalries?
Packers-Vikings and Steelers-Bengals. I like angry football.

Sean-Luc from Oceanside, CA
What did you make of the comments Rodgers made regarding the rookie WRs? Poor leadership skills or a clever form of motivation?
Aaron Rodgers has reached a level of esteem that allows him to make that kind of remark, but it's still dangerous to call out teammates. It can cause enmity. I don't think teams need to hug, but they must not bite.