What gave away that it’s still the offseason? The Packers playing laser tag, or me including Dungeons & Dragons in the mailbag? Buckle up, and happy Friday! 

“Love the mailbag and PWSS is always must-see. For years it's felt like the HOF has been diluted into the hall of good which is both poor grammar and feels fixable. Going forward, if we require at least one first or second-team All-Pro selection as the minimum criteria for modern-era players to be considered by the committee we naturally filter out anyone who was never among the top two players at their position during their entire career. Curious of your thoughts: good idea or a solution in search of a problem?” - Mike 

Appreciate the kind words, Mike! This is a fascinating proposal. I took to Pro Football Reference to do some digging on this, and there are actually only 30 players in the Hall of Fame that never won a first-team All-Pro selection. Probably one of the best examples is Troy Aikman. He never won All-Pro honors during his 12-year career, but he did win three Super Bowls. He also won a Super Bowl MVP. So, even if he wasn’t the first or second best player at his position any year of his career, he still has three rings to show for it. Do you consider Troy Aikman a Hall of Famer? 

I think this is why Eli Manning is such a polarizing figure in terms of Hall of Fame candidacy, too. He never won an All-Pro, either. But he does have two Super Bowl victories and was a two-time Super Bowl MVP. If Aikman is a Hall of Famer already, does that mean Manning should be, too? Or do you not think Aikman should be in the Hall of Fame and that’s where this proposal stems from? 

Or there’s Ben Roethlisberger, who has the stronger resume but has also never won a first or second-team All-Pro. If you’re in favor of Roethlisberger getting into the Hall of Fame, which metric do you use then to determine a worthy candidacy if not for All-Pros? It can’t be Super Bowls since Manning has those, too. 

Obviously Super Bowl MVPs can’t be leaned on too heavily, either, since Nick Foles was a Super Bowl MVP. And you included first or second-team All-Pro selections, which is useful when talking about a player like Warren Moon who never won a first-team All-Pro but did earn second-team honors. 

Boy, Mike. This is a hell of a question. And I only talked about quarterbacks. We didn’t even talk about Philip Rivers! Anyway, I guess my final answer is that it’s a good idea in theory, but it shouldn’t be the only metric used. But I am super curious for the comment section to weigh in on this one. 

“Hey Maggie! Any thoughts on the league revoking a team’s ability to protect home games in regard to playing overseas? I just can’t imagine a Packers/Bears game, or any divisional rival, being played in, say, Brazil. I understand the global desire, but shouldn’t some things be kept historical and traditional? Thanks!” - Jim

Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I kind of think an international division game would be cool. You’re right that there’s a ton of history between teams like the Packers and Bears. Why not add a chapter to the rivalry and let them play in London once? I think about how unlikely it is for a lot of international fans to ever get to Lambeau or Gary, Indiana to watch their team play. But it would be a bucket list game for them to see Packers vs Bears. Because of that, I’d support it. International fans are some of the biggest diehards in the fanbase. I don’t think they’re picky, they just want to see their team play, but I’ll be picky on their behalf. Packers vs Giants in 2022 didn’t move the needle for me. Maybe it’s because the game itself was so abysmal to watch, but it would be fun to introduce international fans to rivalry games. There isn’t really a rivalry with the Giants (unless you want to go back to like, 2011). 

Now, I wouldn’t be for the Lions or Cowboys having to give up a home Thanksgiving game. I appreciate the tradition in that. And it would take a lot for me to get behind something like an international playoff game or international Super Bowl. But for a regular season game? I actually think that would be pretty sweet. I understand that’s a pure fan perspective though and doesn’t factor in the logistics or the boom to the economy that Green Bay loses when the Packers have to give up a home game. 

“Things are relatively quiet now for a while. How do you spend the dead time (when you're not chasing two young'uns)? Do you have any book, movie, or television recommendations to fill our hours until things ramp up again?” - Tony

I do love to read, but since I’m on the computer all day for work I find it harder to sit down and get myself to focus on books lately. If anyone perusing this column is a reader but hasn’t read “When Pride Still Mattered” by David Maraniss, it is absolutely a must-read for Packers fans. Also, of course, “Instant Replay” by my all-time favorite Jerry Kramer. 

But, I actually play Dungeons & Dragons! Some of us have talked about this a little bit on Bluesky before so some people might know that about me, but yeah. I’ve played D&D my entire life. My dad is a D&D OG and has been playing for his entire life, so I’ve been rolling dice for as long as I can remember. He’s the most incredible DM and hand-builds almost all of his terrain. This past March I started DMing for the first time, and I’m hoping his influence has rubbed off on me a little bit. We only play once a month, but designing each session keeps me busy! So, shoutout to Fred for introducing me to the Packers and to D&D. He’s a real one. 

I also am super into fish tanks. I built my first tank as something fun for my then-one-year-old to watch, and it blossomed into building an entire underwater ecosystem that I maintain. I can tell you everything you never wanted to know about aquatic snails (future mailbag question? Just kidding.). And lastly, I jumped on the bandwagon and I bake sourdough now. My son asked me to make a rainbow loaf this weekend, so I have zero idea how I’ll be doing that, but I’m going to try! (My husband is going to read this and go “you’re doing what this weekend?”) But once the NFL season gets closer, I know the Packers are going to eat up all of my down time, and I’m perfectly okay with that. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

And lastly, I finally nailed down which game I’m going to this season. Who am I going to see at the Bills game for Sunday Night Football? You’re all probably thinking “but Maggie, we’re supposed to ask you the questions!” You are, by emailing [email protected]. But I still want to know, who’s coming to the Bills game? See you next week!