Greetings from Green Bay on a Wednesday morning. Let's get started with Mike's question ... The Packers were a seven-point favorite to beat the Colts. That seemed about right to me. Upsets happen all the time in the NFL, but for seven years coach Mike McCarthy and his teams had been almost immune to them, at least as a touchdown or more pick. The kickoff returns made it an even game, and after them the Colts were a shade better. I expected the Colts to give a supreme effort after getting ripped by KC seven days earlier, and according to half a dozen of their players that I spoke with afterward they did. Everyone has an opinion on the Packers' intensity level. Hard for me to say sitting near the very top of the stadium.

Stefan: They probably didn't sign him because he isn't any good. Big, slow-footed backs like Joique Bell have little or no value in the NFL of today. The Packers don't need Joique Bell.

William: I stay away from HOF talk/speculation as much as possible. Over the years I've written columns arguing that sportswriters should not be picking HOFers. It's the NFL's deal, not ours. Not only does it take too much time from our jobs as journalists, beat writers/football columnists aren't the best group to make these selections. I maintain that a retired scout from each of the 32 teams (Plus others at-large) be chosen to form a committee and decide the HOF. The biases would even out. Plus, any current selector worth his salt should be consulting these retired GMs/personnel directors/scouts anyway before voting. Eliminate the middle men. Let the scouts handle it. They're the ones that really know. Let the beat writers concentrate on their jobs, which is breaking stories and covering teams/the league.

Steve: Only the elite few receivers get separation on a consistent basis. The Packers don't have one of those. Otherwise, coverage is going to be pretty tight. Contested catches must be made. When Aaron Rodgers was at his best he was making remarkable throws into tight windows. The number of those remarkable throws made by Rodgers this season and the final 12 games last season has dwindled. In some ways, he has lost some of his accuracy and some of his nerve. At the same time, his corps of WRs and TEs has hardly covered itself in glory.

Charlie: No. How desperate are you? The Packers tried something like that in 2014 with Colt Lyerla hoping they'd get lucky on the cheap and he would solve the post-Finley void at tight end. When Lyerla got hurt, he eventually was let go with injury settlement. A week later, he was arrested again on the West Coast. There are capable NFL players on the street that don't have backgrounds like Rice and Lyerla. It makes no sense to take gambles on people that the odds say might very well bring shame on the organization. Of course, I'm no fan, but winning shouldn't be that important to anyone. It always amazes me when fans advocate for the Packers being a halfway house for troubled players. Playing in the NFL is a privilege, not a right.

Jacob: Can we please let the season play out? The Packers are 4-4 with a chance to finish 12-4, right? How would that be received? Don't laugh. Never laugh when it comes to forecasting where NFL teams will wind up. This organization has won a ton of games in the past 25 years. I would be stunned if they don't have an excellent second half this season.

J: I can't speak for the scouts. Each Tuesday I contact personnel people and ask them for their views on the GB game that week. You get the results as I got the results. Best I can do. Thanks for reading the scouting report. It's designed to give readers a look at the opponent player by player as if they were in an NFL personnel dept. film room.

Al: Perry has had a strong season. Jones started well. Peppers has been adequate. It's a long season. All three need to perform at a high rate, that is for certain. Too early to cast lasting judgments on any of them.

Rudy: Talk about poor. There can be no excuse for those field conditions Sunday on an ideal afternoon (and weekend) for football. Somebody dropped the ball in the organization. With all their people and all their revenue, the Packers cannot allow that to happen. It was mindful of the 1980s when Lambeau had a pure grass field and a much smaller staff, and problems occurred much later in the season and were in a way understandable. You can just imagine how disgusted the Colts were having to play on that morass.

John: Nelson plays a ton of snaps, usually leaving after a 60-yard sprint deep. Frankly, I think he has been overworked slightly. Let's face it. He's not indispensable anymore. Playing 45 plays instead of 65 might do him and the offense some good.

Henry: I can't say that they do. More to the point, they lose their legs at the end of each half as pass rushers. Rushing the QB in some ways is a question of stamina. Ed Donatell used to say that once a D-lineman loses his legs in a game he's done for that day. He worked hard to prevent that via substitution. Mike Trgovac, the D-line coach, strives to avoid overwhelming fatigue as well.

Frank: Large number of excellent players. Large number of excellent assistant coaches. A head coach who stays the course and knows how to win. Management that doesn't cave to knee-jerk fans that have become greedy beyond belief. Winning tradition. There are many, many more, and I've already exceeded my quota.

Paul: Those are just excuses. The offense is McCarthy's, first and foremost, and then it is Rodgers'. Everyone else in the coaching offices and locker room are trying to make those two look good because they know it would translate to winning. Look, McCarthy already has fired 14 coaches in a decade. If he didn't have things exactly the way he wanted to have things, he'd fire somebody tomorrow. You can take that to the bank.

Chad: No one can say until we see what Starks looks like trying to cut and run on a post-operative knee. Montgomery has been impressive in limited exposure. Anything for you fantasy people ...

JL: He isn't using as many multiple TE sets as in the past since Cook was rendered hors de combat. Look for much more of that when he returns. Extra tight ends give pause to the defense and create better balance on offense.

Ron: This was NOT a rebuilding year and won't be a rebuilding year. They were the pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl and remain a viable Super Bowl contender. Many can't see that through the gloom and doom. Play the season out. Scratch and claw for every victory. Battle like never before. It's the only way. You don't rebuild with a coaching staff like this, a roster like this and an organization like this. The offseason is the offseason. This season is halfway over. I guarantee everyone will have vastly different thoughts in eight weeks, or four weeks, or on this coming Sunday night than we do on Wednesday//OK, I see my time is up. Thanks for reading us here at JS//BOB McGINN