GREEN BAY – The Packers' coordinators and offensive assistant coaches spoke to the media on Thursday afternoon. Here are highlights of their news conference:
Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine
On Tramon Williams:
He was solid. He did some good things breaking out on the post (route). He made a good play on the goal line. He closed and got the guy down. There was that one play (to Gordon), but aside from that I thought he was solid.
On the departures of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Jermaine Whitehead:
That's life in the NFL whether it's by transaction or injury, you're going to have to deal with a changing landscape every week. Each week, you hit the reset button. Here's who we have available and here's what we're up against. That's the challenge of coaching. You're not going to have players for a variety of reasons. There's time in the spring when we cross-train players. So a guy like Tramon can step in at a position where he's at least familiar with it. That's a credit to the coaching staff that we've been able to cross-train players so we can put out our best 11.
On Ibraheim Campbell:
He was young. We drafted him so he was a rookie the year I was with him. He did a solid job for us as a backup safety and had a role on core special teams. I've tracked him through the years. He's bounced around. When his name came up as a possibility, he's smart and tough, and played some in the league. I didn't think it would be an issue at all to bring him in and get him up to speed.
On Bashaud Breeland's first game:
He was solid and we're looking for more from him, especially if Tramon is going to continue to stay deep. He's going to need to play a significant role for us. The thing you appreciate about Bree is he wants to be out there. He's done a good job of diving into it, schematically. He's a professional. He knows what to do.
Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin
On Aaron Rodgers' completion percentage:
It's a combination of a lot of factors. We've been playing with some younger receivers. Sometimes it might be the route, the protection, sometimes the throw, sometimes they have a good scheme dialed up. It's something we're certainly aware of and working to improve on a daily basis. It's been a point of emphasis and we have to do better. We need more production, for sure. We need more crispness.
On Corey Linsley:
Obviously we place a high value on that position, No. 1, along with the quarterback. You know how much they're involved in the decision-making of the offense. Corey does an outstanding job in those areas. He's really well prepared every week. He has good quickness and play strength. I think he's starting to develop some anticipation in his game. I think he's coming into his own as a player. He's certainly been a valuable member of the line.
On defenses doubling Davante Adams:
I feel like, as a staff, we give a lot of time and consideration to where we line up Davante. I don't think he's been in one specific spot all season. The pass game is predicated on if they have two and we have one, those aren't great odds. It's an allocation of resources every team has to commit to.
Special-teams coordinator Ron Zook
On getting Drew Kaser ready in case of emergency:
I actually knew Drew. I was the first coach to offer him a scholarship, so I knew him when he was coming out. We talked when we were up there at the hotel. He knew what was going on. A really good guy, I'd like to see him back in the league.
On how JK Scott performed:
Once again, those are things that go on in life. You're a professional. I told him, 'don't worry. Everything back home is taken care of.' And then it turns out she went into labor before we took off and it worked out.
On Trevor Davis returning to practice:
Having him back out there, I'm a Trevor Davis fan. I don't know what's going to happen. Once again, you have fresh legs. He's out there running around. I know he's expect to be out there and be up.
On using Bashaud Breeland as kickoff returner:
I thought he did a good job. I went back and watched all his returns at Washington last year. I think what you saw, he hit it like you want him to hit it. It was availability and who coached wanted to us. Breeland was on that list.
Run-game coordinator/offensive line coach James Campen
On Byron Bell:
Toughness, he has a physicality to him. He does a really good job. He has active hands. He brings a presence with him. He's done a good job. He's continued to work and build his craft. … He is what we expected him to be, a versatile player who's good with his assignments. He can play four positions.
On Jason Spriggs filling for Bryan Bulaga in New England:
He did well. He did some good things. Everybody had things to correct and he does, too. But I thought he did really well in a couple areas. He was strong in protection and in the run game.
On David Bakhtiari blocking in space on toss plays:
It's a common play in the league, but he's a good athlete. It's part of his game he knew he had to work on, run-blocking, but he's done a good job of it. The guys who are allowing him to get out and the running backs have to set people's blocks for him in space. It is fun. As lineman, it's fun getting out in space.
Pass-game coordinator Jim Hostler
On Marquez Valdes-Scantling:
In-season, when you're down the line, your trajectory of how you're going to get better might take a little while, but since he's been playing, all that starts to take off. That's what's really led to him getting better as a rookie receiver. Him and his ability, he's a smart kid. He's a football player, which makes it easier.
On Adams getting double-covered:
It starts with us and our process of moving him around, so we move him and they don't know where he is all the time. We have to do a better job of that, so he's not as easy to double. The better player you become, the more attention you're going to get, you have to beat double coverage. As that unfolds, Davante is going to have to beat two guys. That's the reality of it and Davante has done a good job with it. He's having a heck of a year.
On Geronimo Allison's injury:
We're all sick what happened with Geronimo. He was off to a great start. We're were excited coming out of the offseason with what he had been doing – his play speed, ability to play different spots. He was going to have a hell of a year.
Quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti Jr.
On Aaron Rodgers and offensive completion percentage:
When you look at completion percentage, it's a team game, it's decisions, it's throwaways. … Aaron is a very accurate quarterback. All quarterbacks are going to miss a few throws here and there.
Tight ends coach Brian Angelichio
On Marcedes Lewis:
He's been great, honestly his mindset is whatever he can do to help the team win. He's been a pro learning the offense. He feels good about learning the offense with all the nuances in it. … Of course, you want to be balanced and not give any tells to the defense. Certainly you have plays in where you're keeping that balance.
On Jimmy Graham's targets:
You want to get the ball to the guy who's open because that's going to lead to results. The way the passes are designed with any offense, coverage is going to dictate where the ball goes, as it should. Certainly, there's enough scheme built in where the ball is designed to go to certain people. Some weeks, we might want to throw the backs the ball 20 times.
On Graham in the red zone:
Jimmy has done a great job, tremendous worker and true pro. He's been awesome. There's nobody tougher on Jimmy than Jimmy. He understands the game and when he should make a play he didn't make. You saw in New England. He had some opportunities in the red zone. We get him one-on-one, throw that thing up there. He's done it as well as anyone in the league going up jumping and coming down with those things.
On getting Robert Tonyan involved:
Obviously they all want to play. In New England, we played a lot with one tight end on the field. The opportunities to get multiple guys dictated we were going to be in '11' personnel and no-huddle. We tried to trap personnel, which Aaron (Rodgers) did three times when they tried to sub.
Running backs coach Ben Sirmans
On the backfield not fumbling until Sunday in New England:
That position is one of the most vulnerable positions to be in as a ball carrier, going down to the ground when it can be exposed. When you're going down like that, the ball is really flat. It's great timing by the d-lineman. You saw how thunderous the ball was when he hit it. We talked about things we can do and drill keeping the nose of the football up so it's not flat.
On Ty Montgomery getting traded and where those reps go:
It just means in practice it's probably better for the other guys because you had to feed Ty also from a practice standpoint and game standpoint. Now those reps are dispersed between the two. The more you can practice, the better you should be able to perform.
On Tra Carson:
He has some quickness to him and some explosiveness. He's a bigger guy. I think he's 228, 230. He's good friends with C-Mike. He's not as quick as C-Mike, but he has those jerky cuts C-Mike had. Just with a lot more power.
On Aaron Jones' unselfishness:
That's the thing about him. Even when he first came back, when we were just breaking him in slowly, there were games where other guys played a lot more, but he never complained. Whether you like the amount of reps you're getting or not, you just keep pressing on. He's been really good with handling his situation that way.
Receivers coach David Raih
On losing Geronimo Allison:
It's tough to see a player like G-Mo go down like that, he provides so much for the room. Not only a dependable player on the field, but when you come to work every day and a guy like Geronimo who's as disciplined as he is. I don't think I've seen him not give everything he's got. I feel bad for him right now. I just tell him to stay positive and we're going to keep moving forward.
On how Jake Kumerow and Trevor Davis are in meetings:
It's hilarious because they're dying to play every day. They've been here every day, trying to get better. They're getting all the mental reps they can and all the film work that we do. They've trained all the techniques. It's just getting back in there and getting lose.
