GREEN BAY PACKERS vs. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS, Nov. 15, 2020, at Green Bay, Wis.
HEAD COACH MATT LaFLEUR:
(opening statement) “I’ll start off with just a little something. Obviously, we’re happy with the win, although we didn’t play our best and we all know that. I think we recognize that. We didn’t play to our standard. There’s a lot of improvement out there for us. But anytime you win in this league you’ve got to enjoy that. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They came ready to play. They showed more emotion than we did. They battled and you’ve got to give them a lot of credit. That’s a credit to their players, their coaches. And this is the National Football League. Just like we told our players, you’ve got to earn everything you get. People aren’t just going to lay down. You’ve got to come ready to play and ready to work each and every day in order to get the results you want. Again, we’re fortunate and we’ll take the win, but we’ve got to improve, especially at home.”
(on what’s causing the Packers to come out flat at home) “Yeah, that’s a great question. That’s something that obviously I’ve got to look inward and see if I’m doing the right things. I think our staff has to look at themselves. I think we all, every player, everybody involved with this team has got to look deep inside of them and understand and appreciate the opportunity to go out there and compete. It’s special when you get a chance to play a football game in the National Football League and we’ve got to do a better job of bringing more juice, just bringing a tougher mindset to game day, especially when we’re at home. I don’t know what it is about the last couple games here at Lambeau, but certainly it hasn’t been our best and we’ve got to be better.”
(on if there was a point where he felt that the offense was finally clicking and the Packers would win) “It kind of felt out of sync all game to be honest with you. I thought there was a stretch there in the second quarter where I felt like we were moving in the right direction. Certainly the game did not start off well, I think we had what, three three-and-outs, or something like that. I know we punted our first three possessions. That wasn’t good enough, that wasn’t up to our standard. But you’ve got to give them credit. They came to play, they battled. You know, it’s not like they did anything we didn’t think they were going to do. But we definitely have to do a better job of game planning and then going out there and executing that game plan.”
(on LT David Bakhtiari’s contract extension) “That’s a great credit to Dave. He works his tail off. Certainly he’s a big part of this football team and we’re lucky to have a guy of his caliber. We’re very fortunate and happy to keep him here for a long time.”
(on Bakhthiari’s contract extension) “It’s awesome. Any time you see a guy get rewarded for a job well done, it gets you excited as a coach. You always want your players to get rewarded and certainly, he’s earned that. I found out this morning. Gutey (Brian Gutekunst) came and told me prior to the game. I was pumped up. I didn’t really get a chance to say anything to him prior to the game, but actually, the first time I mentioned anything to him was after we scored our first touchdown, that long one to MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling), he came running off, I hugged him and told him I’m happy he’s going to be a Packer for a really long time.”
(on if the Jaguars special teams touchdown was the result of having new players on those units) “No. To me, that would be a total excuse. It doesn’t matter who we have in there. We’ve got to do a better job. We’ve got to coach better and we’ve got to go out there and execute better. So, that’s something that we’ll take a good hard look at.”
(on how the defense finished the game) “That was awesome to see. I felt like that was the first time our team came alive. You could feel it on the sidelines, everybody rooting for one another. We need that from the opening kick. That’s the standard. We can’t just pick and choose when we want to do that. The game is on the line so it’s easy to get up for that. We have got to do a better job from when before we start the game, to show that kind of energy, to show that kind of emotion, to show that kind of support for one another that we saw at the end of the game. And if we don’t get that, we’re not going to be at our best. So that’s going to be something that we’ll challenge everybody that is in this organization, that’s a part of this football team, to bring more emotion. You can’t take these opportunities for granted. You’ve got to give your best every time you get a chance to go out there. And again, it starts with myself, and then it goes to our assistants and then our players. So, we’ve got to do a better job.”
(on why he thinks the emotion was missing from his team today) “Well, if I knew it definitely wouldn’t be a problem, right? So, I’ve got to do some investigating, obviously, and look at myself first. But that wasn’t good enough. There’s no doubt about it. In terms of just the energy and the passion. We’re playing football. These guys are playing a kid’s game and getting paid for it, man. It’s just disturbing to me. Again, it starts with myself and our staff. We’ve got to bring more energy for these guys.”
(on the play-action touchdown pass to WR Davante Adams in a run-heavy defensive look) “I wish we could get that every play. Obviously, he’s an elite wide receiver. He’s a legit number one. One of the best in the game. Every time we get that opportunity, we’ll take advantage of it. But that play was actually designed to go to Marquez on the other side and they did a good job of defending it. And it’s something we saw on tape, but we figured if ‘Quez wasn’t open, then we’d have ‘Tae potentially in a one-on-one situation. He did such a great job coming off the ball, kind of slow playing it like it was a run, and then accelerating out of that cut and Aaron gave him a nice opportunity right there with that throw and he went up and made the play.”
(on LB Rashan Gary) “I just think it’s a step in the right direction. He’s got to continue to progress and get better and better and better and we’ve got to make sure that he gets those opportunities because certainly he had a big impact at the end of the game.”
(on what it’s like as a coach that the Packers seemed to lack energy today) “I always think that we kind of have to set the tone as a coaching staff. The big concern for me is it just seems to be more in our home games than when we’re on the road. So, you know, I get it. It’s a strange year. We’re used to having fans to help bring that energy to our football team and we don’t have that right now, unfortunately. And that’s the situation and it is what it is. So we’ve got to do a better job of supplying that juice internally. All we have is the men in the locker room. Again, we’ll search and try to dig at it and find ways to go out there and compete to the best of our ability. Happy with the win. Happy that we found a way to win without playing our best, but we all know there is so much more out there for this football team.”
(on if he has to talk to his leadership players to get the rest of the team to play with more energy) “I think we’re all responsible, everybody that’s got a hand in this thing to be their best. All we ask guys is to be the best version of themselves. Whether your suiting up or not, supporting one another. That’s why I love football. It’s the ultimate team sport. It takes everybody and I always think it starts with us as a coaching staff, and bringing the necessary energy for our guys so they get excited about what we’re doing. And again, we’ve got to do a better job of that.”
(on how much of the game plan was to go to WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling after Adams had an uncharacteristically down game) “I don’t know if I’d call it an uncharacteristically down game. Obviously, he was battling through some stuff. You know obviously the fumble was not a good moment. But, a lot of our plan typically rolls through ‘Tae when he’s available. Certainly, there was a moment there when he went out and we lost Swerve (Tyler Ervin) and we were in a little bit of a scramble mode on the sidelines trying to formation some of this stuff to get our guys in the right position. I think, again, I think we can do a better job as a staff to have a better plan, or having more versatility within our plan in case, hey injuries are part of the game and they are going to happen and we know that. And we’ve been through that already this year. I think we’ve got to have a little more flexibility with our plan, with our scheme to make sure we’re getting our best players in position to make plays and get them the football. After the game I look at the stats and I see that Aaron Jones doesn’t have enough touches. Jamal Williams doesn’t have enough touches. So, we’ve got to make sure we’ve got enough stuff designed for everybody in case that happens. Today, it happened and I don’t think we did a good enough job with the plan.”
QUARTERBACK AARON RODGERS:
(on David Bahktiari becoming the highest-paid OL in NFL history) “I’m really happy for him. I was privy to some of the conversations that were going on and was wondering where we were going to get before the end of this year. Obviously, wrapping them up would seem to be something that would benefit the organization long-term, best left tackle in the game and a future Hall of Famer, probably. (I’m) very happy for him and he’s having a big year, man. He’s got a great woman that he got engaged with and got a long-term extension that pays him the way he deserves to be paid. He’s having a hell of a year. He’s a special player, he’s a great locker-room guy and yeah, pretty happy for him.”
(on the conditions and how challenging it was) “Not great conditions. Luckily there wasn’t a lot of precipitation, really not much of any. But the wind was significant as it was a couple weeks ago against Minnesota. That puts definitely a stress on throws and I’m sure the young kid over there (Jake Luton) felt the same thing. Throws you felt really good about didn’t turn out great (and there were) throws you maybe didn’t feel great about that turned out pretty good. (It was) a little bit of a guessing game at times. The first third down I got outside the pocket there, Bobby (Tonyan) turned his route up, felt really good about the throw and it went about 7 yards left of where I was thinking that was going to end up, so that’s just the way it goes sometimes at Lambeau. Again, the swirling effect was definitely there. You’re looking up at the flags, they’re kind of coming from the north. But the wind seemed to be kind of going all over the place. We made due with it. We threw the ball for a lot of yards, but definitely had some opportunities in the passing game that the wind affected some of the throws.”
(on the importance of getting Aaron Jones signed for next year) “These are interesting conversations because there’s going to be probably a significant drop in the salary cap based on the agreement that’s in place with the PA (Players Association). We’ve put kind of a floor at 175 (million) and I’m just guessing we’re probably going to be at that number for next year, so there’s going to be some interesting gymnastics done with some of the salary cap I’m sure for certain players. He’s a talented, talented guy. He does so much for our offense. I’m sure there’s going to be some tough decisions when it comes to certain guys.”
(on what he told the Smiths before the last defensive play and how they handled the conditions against a struggling team) “I was just talking to Tom (Fanning) before we came in here, reminiscing about how this was kind of the like the game in ’12 where we had to have a late field goal to put us up two scores in that one against a team I believe that had one win that day, maybe two. Over the years they’ve been a tough team for us. We’ve played them four times now during my 13 years starting. In ’08 they beat us in a really tight game. We beat them in a close game in ’12, beat them in a close game in ’16 and beat them here in a close game (today). So I think it’s more that they have a lot of pride. They played tough. They’ve got a couple really good edge guys, good inside backers, had a nice plan for us. The weather I think evened some things out a little bit where because of the rain that we had, the length of the grass, the wind, I think there was evening out some things, and then we played uncharacteristic in a few areas. I had an interception, Davante (Adams) fumbled, we gave up a 90-yard punt-return touchdown, so there were some uncharacteristic things that happened. But I think the energy was really good today, especially on the defensive side of the ball. I think it was more reminiscent of a game from last year, where we relied on them to come through in the clutch with some big stops. I was just talking with ‘Z’ and ‘P’ (Za’Darius and Preston Smith) about what the formation looked like from my perspective on fourth-and-25 and just giving them a couple ideas to think about.”
(on when and how he found out about Bahktiari’s contract and how they can celebrate social-distance style) “There’s specific rules in place about the amount of players that are supposed to be congregating at certain times. I’m sure I’ll get a chance to enjoy some vino – that’s wine for the layperson – but he enjoys wine and I’m sure I’ll bring over a bottle at some point and enjoy it with him and his sweet lady. Dave and I are really close friends. I would say best friends – I’m not sure if he would – so obviously it’s been interesting to me to see where they’re at. He’s been keeping me up to date as much as he feels comfortable, but I was excited for him last night when I heard that this was going to go down.”
(on the deep TD to Valdes-Scantling and if he’s becoming more than just a deep threat) “I think it starts with the deep threat. I think we need to keep finding ways to get him other routes. I think the growth we’re going to see from him is where he becomes more than just a one-dimensional guy. But I will say there were a couple plays that I really, really liked today from him. We ran a keeper and he caught it and ran through it and got about 30 yards on a keeper, which is amazing. I just feel like he ran really tough with the ball on that play. We had a third down that was important for us on our second touchdown drive, where I had to move to the right and he had a great scramble adjustment where I feel like there was big flow to the right. He stopped and I threw him a ball that was probably knuckling all over the place and he made a nice body catch to keep things alive. And then the little bubble (screen) out to the left, catching it and getting north and south right away. I thought those were really good examples of him just making plays when the opportunities were there. The deep ball was, first, with really nice protection pickup by Aaron Jones and second, it was a weird coverage. They were bringing a safety to that side and kind of rolling coverage behind with a zero-half on that side, basically man-to-man on Bobby (Tonyan) and Marquez. The wind was obviously strange, but I was feeling like if I put it a little inside, the ball was definitely tailing to the right, so I just tried to put it up in the air and throw it a little bit inside. I expected the ball to kind of float to the right a little bit, and Marquez did all the separation at kind of the 20-yard mark, and then did a nice job catching it, switching field and kind of using the ref to get in the end zone there.
(on why the running game struggled) “I think this defense in general is predicated on having an eight-man box. It’s in the mold of the Seattle defense that was basically created and run the early part of this decade and end of the previous decade where they want to have kind of that gap control. They did a nice job. They’ve got some stout guys inside. They’ve got some long-armed edge setters on the edge and we just didn’t, I think, get as many holes opened at times as we needed to. Also, because the field was wet and it was windy, much like it is a lot of times in November and December football in Green Bay, we do see a little bit more single-safety, because the expectation is it’s going to be harder to throw the ball. I thought we threw the ball pretty well today, definitely from a yardage standpoint. The wind was a challenge, but we’ve got to run the ball better going forward because it’s a little tough with the edge guys being a little too one-dimensional.”
(on the touchdown to Davante Adams) “First I want to talk about the one that didn’t count, because I’m assuming you’re talking about the one that did count. I didn’t see if it was holding or not. It’s always tough when you move to the right on the right tackle to engage and disengage and the defensive line has gotten good at making it look like holding if it might not actually be holding. But that was a hell of a route. He (Adams) got to the top of that and made a stick and I threw the ball in the air and that was just a really smooth, beautiful route and catch. The play that he actually had a touchdown, first I would talk about his toughness. I won’t get into what he was dealing with, but the fact that he’s out out and then I’m on the sidelines and I hear, ‘Hey, 17 said he wants to go back in.’ Look, you might think that that’s a normal thing in this game, and maybe it was 10 years ago, but you see less and less of that happening. I think there’s more of a, ‘Oh, you know, doc doesn’t think I can go here. Maybe I should sit out the rest of the game,’ but 17’s built differently. He always has been, and for him to get back out three, I asked him a couple times, ‘You OK? You good?’ and he just nodded that he was, so that route and that play that he scored on is really a play for Marquez (Valdes-Scantling) sliding across the formation. They did a good job of kind of getting hands on him and ‘Tae just slow played it on the back side. It wasn’t an easy throw based on the wind and I wasn’t trying to put it 10 feet up in the air for him to come down on his shoulder like that, but dude is a special player. He’s one-of-a-kind and he never ceases to grow my respect, and it’s just another chapter for him today dealing with what he was dealing with, to come back out there and catch a touchdown. That’s what you want from your leaders.”
(on what they need to do to build a home-field advantage over the final four games) “I see John Kuhn in the stands. I’d like to get him going a little bit, whether or not he needs to take his shirt off, get on the Jumbotron or something, get the wave going. I told Matt (LaFleur) I want to see ‘Roll Out the Barrel’, I want the beer races, I want ‘Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign’, I want ‘YMCA.’ I want the favorites. I don’t know why we’re shying away from some of those, but I’m just one man. That’s what I want.”
(on how advantageous home-field football would be in the playoffs given the circumstances) “I think that’s a great question. It depends, are we going to have fans or not? From what I’ve heard, even the plan for the Super Bowl, they’re not expecting a lot of fans, so I would assume, even under the best conditions in those cities that maybe 20, 30 percent (capacity) is kind of the most that can be hoped for. I don’t think that’s going to make a huge difference. To me that’s always been the biggest difference, is the conditions themselves. Obviously having a loud fan base is important. The energy, especially for the defensive players, is very important, but getting warmer- weather or dome teams up here in December and January has always been, I feel like, a good advantage for us. We’ve thrown the ball well in bad weather. We’ve won big games in bad weather. I think it does even some things out because everything just kind of moves a little bit slower, but getting a home game in January – with or without fans – hopefully it will definitely be an advantage for us.”
