OK, I'll start with the injuries. Will Blackmon suffered an ACL injury. He will be lost for the season. Atari Bigby, Chad Clifton, Brandon Jackson and Jeremy Thompson, hopefully over the bye, we're optimistic they'll be ready for Detroit. Desmond Bishop had a rib bruise. I think he'll be fine coming off the bye. Daryn Colledge had a knee sprain. They're anticipating he'll be OK for Detroit. Derrick Martin had a throat contusion. He's checked out of the hospital, he's back in Green Bay, and I think he'll be fine for Detroit. And DeShawn Wynn had a wrist sprain, and I think he'll be OK for Detroit.
(Did Derrick end up having to stay over?)
Was it overnight? Yes. I know they took him to the hospital as we went to the airport. He did spend the evening.
(Was the injury the reason you replaced him or was it a performance issue?)
It was a performance issue.
(Moving forward, will getting Bigby back help at that safety spot?)
Having Atari back would definitely give us the experience there in the communication aspect of it. The ability to have Nick Collins playing more in the back end is definitely a strength of our safety play. We're still working with Derrick and Matt, but that's something that we need to clean up. It's definitely factored in our first four games.
(How confident are you that you could have Bigby back?)
It's tough. Atari, he's such an ambitious individual, and he gives you everything he can. I think Dr. Pat McKenzie is a little more hesitant, so this bye week will really help him.
(Have you talked any about moving Woodson to safety?)
Well, certain aspects of our defense, because of the way we do play, there are characteristics that he actually plays that responsibility.
(Woodson wondered about things with the defense last night and the decision not to keep Anthony Smith. Do you think you have a problem on your hands?)
I don't think I have a problem at all. Actually I was just made aware of it. But also I have talked to Charles about Anthony Smith, and I'll say this about Charles Woodson. He's as competitive as a player that we have not only on our football team but probably in the National Football League. I'm sure that a lot of that was emotional, emotionally driven. These are things that are talked about. I don't ever shy away from an opinion that does not agree with mine. Every decision we do make here is obviously with a lot of thought. I don't think we have an issue.
(Was it the right decision to sit back in zone against Brett instead of blitzing more?)
I just watched the tape, and I don't feel we sat back in zone all the time. There were times. Frankly, watching it with Dom and the defensive staff, we had made some mistakes there, particularly with some of our pressure calls that occurred in the game, particularly in the first half, that created big-play opportunities for them, and they hit them. So Dom was hesitant at times to probably go back to that. But I don't think we sat there all day and played zone. I don't think that would be accurate.
(Were there coverage errors then?)
Just a combination. I'll say this. I haven't corrected the film with the players, and I'm not going to do that here today. I'll talk in generalities. But I don't correct the individuals in the paper.
(Getting Clifton back, how much would that help the protection problems?)
Well, it would definitely help. That's the strength of Chad Clifton. He's our starting left tackle, has been here for a long time, and just the way we're designed on offense, he falls into a category as a skill position. Your left tackle has to block the Jared Allens of the world. That's the way we're designed. I think it will definitely help. But it's just not one guy. It's really the combination of some of the things in the protection unit that we need to do a better job of, and frankly, some of it falls on the quarterback decision and his time clock. He's making a lot of good plays with his feet, but it also has caught us sometimes. That's the thing with this extra time and the self-scout we need to go through.
(Because of the pressure, has Aaron's time clock been altered?)
Just in this particular contest last night in Minnesota, Aaron Rodgers had a ton of positive production. I think that was obvious to anybody who saw the game. He had some plays that he's gonna wish he had back. We didn't call a lot of plays where we were holding the ball. That was part of the design. When you play up there in that noise, they're playing a little bit downhill on you when they know it's a pass. I think that's evident to everybody. Holding the ball sometimes is not what we want to do.
(When you looked at the eight sacks, how many did you feel he held onto the ball too long?)
Once again, not having an opportunity to view the tape with the players until tomorrow, there's definitely some that fell on the quarterback and the protection unit. A number of them could have been avoided, clearly.
(What happens in that situation, when you have a 3-step or 5-step drop and he does hold it, is it because no one is open?)
Well, I'll give you an example. When you can design plays, whether it's a 3-step drop or a 5-step drop, really the quarterback's decision-making is clear in our offense. He only has three reads in the whole offense. He has what we refer to as a pure progression read, where you create a triangle with the pass concept, and I tell him exactly who 1, 2 and 3 are. You either throw it to 1, 2 or 3. The second read is the progression or an option. You throw it to 1, 2 or 3, or there's an option built in based on the coverage. And the third read is what we refer to as a PSL, pre-snap look, that tells you to work one side or the other. So when you stay in tune with that, the time clock fits, and it's tied to the protection. Those are the types of things that are very basic, and sometimes you get in a game you see something. There's a lot more disguising going on in today's NFL. We're seeing more than ever because of our double and triple counts at the line of scrimmage, plus even moreso in a dome up there. They did some different things with their coverage as far as holding their safeties and things. But you have to trust the read, trust the read, and that didn't happen all the time. There's a few plays I'm sure he'll wish he had back.
(Are you going to bring Tauscher back?)
That's something that we're looking at. We actually had Mark in here today for a workout, and I know he's going through the medical aspect of it. It's something that Ted has been in contact with Mark, and October 1st is the date that Dr. McKenzie has always felt that his rehab would be completed. That's definitely something that we are visting.
(If it were to happen, what would he give you guys given the way the offensive line has functioned?)
Number one, a good football player. I think he definitely adds to our offensive line group and more importantly to our 53-man roster, just from a pure personnel standpoint. Obviously Mark's history here; he's played a ton of football for us in this scheme from day one. So just to have his experience and everything back in the room I think is definitely an asset.
(Were you part of the workout?)
I didn't go to the workout, but I saw Mark this morning.
(Can you tell us who did work him out?)
The medical staff and the coaches. It was a normal personnel workout. It was pretty standard.
(How'd they say he looked?)
He looked good.
(So was Oct. 1 accurate and he's ready to go?)
He looks good. That's what they told me. I said, 'Good.'
(Do you look at that as something imminent?)
I would think so, if it works out. You know how those things go. It would be great to have Mark back here. I have spoken to Allen Barbre about it. He knows he is coming in. This is something that has been planned.
(Would he come in and be your right tackle?)
He needs to come in and go through practice and so forth. At some point he'll have an opportunity to compete at right tackle, but Allen Barbre is still the starting right tackle.
(Was this kind of the plan all along, to look at him Oct. 1?)
That was always the date that Dr. McKenzie told me and Ted obviously. Just visiting with Mark this morning, he feels good. He had the workout there in Kansas City last week. I think it would definitely be an asset to have him back on our football team.
(So this is a better alternative because you can play him sooner, rather than re-sign him earlier and put him on PUP?)
There is always different factors involves and I'm not going to get into all of those. Really that falls in Ted's hands as far as when and who and what. There are a lot of elements that go into that. This wasn't just the plan, wait to October 1 and bring him back. I'm just saying October 1 from a medical standpoint was the time frame that they felt Mark would be ready to play football.
(Is Jordy Nelson going to be your return guy for punts and kickoffs?)
Definitely kickoffs, yeah. I like the way he returned the kickoffs too. I think Jordy does a really good job of just getting north and south. There is not a lot of wasted movement. He does a good job hitting the landmarks. The return that he had out there to the 44-yard line would have been big for us. We had the penalty called. But I think he has done a nice job with the opportunities that he has had.
(Does that muff on a punt make you want to look at other options?)
Well, we have options there. You have Jordy. You also have Tramon Williams. Charles Woodson is as good of a punt returner...just his value to our defense is something that you have to balance and look at. We definitely have other options on our team.
{sportsad300}(You've dealt with penalties a lot. How frustrated are you with that? Does it get to you?)
Well, get to me? It's something that is addressed. I don't like the way we have more penalties than them. That has happened way too much. As far as the penalty and what it's happening and the field position and the magnitude of the penalties is the thing that is really hurting us, particulary in our return game. Then obviously with the offense with the long down-and-distances, or the first downs with the defense it generates. Those are the types of things that are frustrating. Now, definitely, I say it all of the time, pre-snap penalties, there is no excuse to line up offsides or to have a false start. But when you've got hand placement and things like that, they're going to call some penalties. But we're definitely having more than the other guy right now and we have to get that fixed.
(Is it a reputation thing or is it young guys who just don't know how to get away with it as well?)
I'm going to avoid opinions about reputations and things like that. That's right up your alley, so I am going to stay away from that.
(Going into the bye, where do you think you are as a football team?)
I think we're right where our record is, 2-2. I think the things that we haven't done at a consistent level has factored into the outcome of our games and that's what our focus will be on from a self-scout standpoint. We'll make sure that we apply those corrections into our practice plan. We've got to get ready for Detroit. We're 1-1 in the division and we've got those guys coming in here. We've got to get ready to go.
(Did you alter the bye week schedule based on these first few weeks?)
I've always usually had two plans, so this was pretty much the plan all along. Having a bye week coming off a Monday night game, just to be honest, to have a practice on Wednesday, their bodies are not ready for that, especially coming out of a division game. The ability to travel (from) Green Bay, Wisconsin, that factors. I always try to give them an extra half a day or a full day for travel. Those are types of things to look at. Ultimately just from a pure work standpoint and the things that we need to get done, today and tomorrow coaches work on self-scout and Detroit, so we'll be ready Sunday when the players get back.
(You were building to be a pretty good pressure defense in the preseason and Bears game. Where do you think the disconnect has been?)
I'm not sure what you're asking me. What do you mean, disconnect?
(Are you happy with the pressure you're getting on the quarterback?)
Once again, football, and God bless the video games, but just because you dial pressure doesn't mean you win the down. Football is always going to be about fundamentals, whether you have a pressure call or a coverage call, whether you throw the ball or run the ball. How much pressure, when we call pressure, those are opinions. Dom Capers and his staff, they put a lot of time into it. I fully trust their judgments. It's a lot more fun to pressure, it's a lot more fun to throw the ball. That's the facts of football, no doubt about it, but it all fits together. The things that we need to do a better job of are the fundamentals, whether it's a pressure call or a coverage call.
(On offense, what do you want to focus on as you self-scout?)
Number one, you go back and look at all of the problem areas. Just frankly with today's technology and everything, we have Mike Eayrs up there, the director of research and development, I'm very comfortable with our weekly self-scout. It's a lot more in-depth than it was 10 years ago. In the past with bye weeks we have this big self-scout project and so forth. To me it's an ongoing process I know here in our program. Just make sure you identify the things you need to work on, but you've also got to identify the things that you need to work on and apply it to your next opponent. It's important to keep cleaning your own house, and I feel we do that every week. But we need to get ready for these upcoming opponents.
