(What is your reaction to Brett Favre reportedly filing for reinstatement?)
Jeff just made me aware of the reinstatement letter. That's obviously the first step in Brett coming back, so we'll deal with that when he is reinstated and we'll definitely have a plan in order.
(Is part of that plan to allow him to compete for the starting job?)
We'll address everything as far as the details of how Brett Favre fits into our future plans when he arrives here in Green Bay.
(Do you welcome it as good news that he is coming to camp?)
Brett Favre is still a very good football player. He is an asset to our football team. Once again, I'm going to answer this question for the last time. The plan for Brett Favre will be discussed with Brett Favre first, and then we'll make it aware to the public.
(Are you concerned about any division in the locker room?)
I'm not concerned about it. We have talked about it as a football team. The players are handling it totally different than I think the perception is out there. We're about playing football. We're about getting ready for our season upcoming. Everybody is aware of everything that is going on. There are no ill feelings toward Brett Favre, and he will be welcomed back into our locker room.
(Is there a trade in the works or are you planning on him coming here?)
I have no comments. Like I have said before, the organization's policy, I don't comment on any trades or player acquisitions or any of those types of things.
(What is the process for a player coming in at this stage?)
The same for every player. He'll come in and he'll go through a physical. Then he will be evaluated, he'll have a run test to see where his conditioning is and we'll evaluate that, and then we'll have a practice plan for him.
(Will that take up the whole day?)
I have no idea how long it is going to take. Once again, the reinstatement is the next step by the Commissioner.
(How do you want to play Aaron Rodgers in the preseason since he has not been a starter before?)
He'll be starting all of the games as the starter. We've talked about possibly playing our first group maybe a little longer, and those are things that we'll discuss. The health of your football team obviously factors into that, so that is our plan going into the preseason with Aaron.
(How much more might you play the first unit?)
As opposed to playing two series in the first game, maybe they play three series, those types of things. Some people go by quarters; we go by plays. It's really the quality of work that I have always looked at as the barometer of where we are in the preseason.
(Is this just one more distraction that makes it a bit more challenging?)
I'm not going to sit here and tell you it's not a distraction, but it's only a distraction if we let it be a distraction. It's an external problem, and that's really the way we view it. Now we have to deal with it; we have a responsibility to the media and we are dealing with that. Really our focus in our meeting time is more talking about fundamentals and techniques. Everybody knows their plays; everybody knows what they are supposed to do. We're just trying to bring the things together as a football team that are important to win. I'm more concerned about pad level and footwork than I am about reinstatement.
(When will you talk to Brett?)
I'm sure it will be a conversation here in the near future once he is reinstated.
(How did Rodgers do today?)
I thought Aaron had a solid day. The third down was the emphasis today. I thought the defense had some very good segments, stretches there in the third down productivity. I thought the protection was pretty good as a whole. I would say it's kind of your normal install of third down. There was some sloppiness, some timing wasn't where it needed to be. I thought Aaron Rodgers as an individual had a solid day.
(Is the defense ahead of the offense at this point?)
Yeah, that's probably fair to say right now.
(What is the league rule then as far as a timetable to make a roster spot for Brett?)
I'm coaching a football team. I know the next step, the commissioner will reinstate him. And once that happens, we'll move ahead accordingly.
{sportsad300}(He said he might be calling your bluff. Is he making a mistake by doing that?)
I've never said anything about bluffing.
(Meaning he's going to show up and you really won't keep him away or prevent him from competing for a starting job. Is he making a mistake in thinking that way?)
That's a great question. You can ask him when he gets here. I don't have an answer for that question.
(I'm asking you, are you bluffing?)
I'm not bluffing. My story has never changed every time I've gotten up here. It's not going to change today either.
(How comfortable are you going into the season with two rookie backups at quarterback?)
The word comfort, I don't like the word comfort. We're a work in progress. We knew that when we made this decision to move forward with two young quarterbacks. Fortunately, we have a lot of time to get the work done. That's a question that really time will answer. Am I confident? Yes I am. Because I wouldn't have been part of the decision-making process that put us in this position if I wasn't. I'm confident we'll be able to get the work done in time to make sure we're putting our team in position to win.
(Do you feel like Aaron gives you the best chance to win?)
It really goes back to what we've been saying all along as an organization. This is about the direction that we've gone with our football team. What's happened here in the last week, 10 days, whenever we jumped into this fray, it really doesn't factor in us changing our direction. This is all part of a football team and an organization setting a direction, and we're moving forward. If Brett Favre reinstates, then he'll be part of the plan for the future of this football team. It's as simple as that. I don't know how else to answer.
(So will you sit down with Ted Thompson and put a plan in motion?)
It will be put in motion. We have discussed the potential plans on what we're going to do in the future, but frankly I'm not going to talk about it here today until I have an opportunity to talk about it with Brett Favre.
(You have said you feel like your team can handle this. How thankful are you to have a group like that?)
I think it all goes back to the organization, starting with Ted Thompson and the selection process. We have high-quality individuals in our locker room. It's a young group that's really come together, starting with the offseason program, and now we get the test of all the different obstacles that go with winning, and this particular situation is another challenge.
