GREEN BAY – The Packers' coordinators met with the media Thursday. Here's a sampling of their key comments:
Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia
On Minnesota's special teams:
In the four games I've been a part of with Minnesota, this is a good, physical special-teams unit. They've blocked a punt already this year. They've got a punter who can direct the ball and hits big balls. The rookie kicker's playing really well. So it'll be a challenge to take advantage of the opps that we get and, again, to protect the punter. There's been a lot of really good rushes going on around the league, some new things that have been coming to the forefront, some new formations depending on the distance you have to get a first down. They had two successful fakes a year ago that we've got to prepare for, and where they are in the field, how we're going to line up to it. They're a challenge. They're a challenge because they're coached really well, and I think like the rest of their team, they're a physical bunch that can really run.
On Keisean Nixon only having one kickoff return so far:
I put him in a bad spot (against) Philly taking that ball out back then. We just thought he could possibly make a play. It was a bad alignment and the ball was just kicked really well. I don't know when they're going to kick to him. I think Minnesota's covered three to this point. They've covered three and they've returned two, or vice versa. There hasn't been a lot to him right now. We have to keep him from getting frustrated and getting discouraged, and also, when the opps come, hopefully we can get guys blocked. We didn't block anybody in the first one (against) Philly, so we're not really sure what it's going to look like when we do get our opps. Every time we're out there, we're trying to prepare to get our blocks done and hopefully we'll just keep making good decisions on the back end without him getting frustrated.
On K Brayden Narveson so far:
The guys that can self-correct quickly are the ones that really know what they're doing about their plant foot, about their line, trusting the line and hitting it. I think that's one of the best things that Brayden does. He has a good line, he trusts his line and he hits the ball. So we're happy with where he is as well, and hopefully he keeps getting better.
We were real excited he came back last week, the 48-yarder that he hit, so his response to something negative what we're looking at as well, and I think he's done a good job kicking off for us.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley
On facing Vikings WR Justin Jefferson:
He's a great player. You turn on the tape and it doesn't take you very long to figure out how good he is. I mean, he's big, he can catch the ball, he's fast, he can run all the routes, he's good when he catches the ball in catch and run, he's got incredible hands. We've had guys in this building who've played him. (Derrick Ansley) has coached up against him, (Ryan Downard) and those guys. So yeah, you definitely want to pick other people's brains, and I've talked to other coaches in the league about him. But all you have to do is turn on the tape. The tape speaks louder than anyone can tell me. You've got to know where he is and you have to pick and choose times to scheme around him. You can't just scheme around him the whole game. They have other really good players, too.
On whether CB Jaire Alexander can match up against him in this scheme, or if that messes up everybody else:
Maybe it doesn't work in some schemes where they just keep their corners on a side. (But) it's our job to put our best players in a position to make plays, so if it's our job to put our best players on their best players, then we need to figure out how to do that. I'm not just going to walk into a game and say the scheme is just strong enough to stop that great player. That's just not how I think. We've got to figure out how to stop their best players each week and if that means doing something a little bit different, then it's our job to do that.
On facing RB Aaron Jones:
He runs with violence. He's got this burst to him that he just wants to run through people and he's fast. He can bounce it and hit it and he's got a great stiff arm. He's an explosive player and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. He's good in the screen game, they empty him out, they release him through the backfield, he's a complete player. We've got to do everything we can to play great defense against him.
On the pass rush:
We're sending waves of different guys out there, so by the fourth quarter, when the O-line has played every single play and our D-line has each played half of those snaps, they're going. We looked fast at the end of the game. I think (DL coach Jason Rebrovich) did a great job of making sure of that because now you have fast guys in the fourth quarter when they had to throw the ball. That's why you saw we were coming.
On DL Devonte Wyatt:
He's taken big steps from Week 1 to Week 3, as I would hope he would with the rest of our defense as they get comfortable. You see what he does in the pass game and how effective he is, but I don't know if you quite dive into how good he's been in the run game – the TFLs, the movement, the speed, the athleticism, the get-off, the penetration. He makes it hard for the O-line. Really hard. The combination of all those different bodies we have in the middle, you got some really big guys and then you've got some quick guys, and he's kind of a combination of both. I'm a big fan of him. He works, he's a fun guy to be around and I hope, and if I had to bet, you're going to see improvement each week from him.
Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich
On LT Rasheed Walker's play and the penalties:
Inconsistent. Up and down. And his play has been good, but like you said, the penalties, those things kill drives and that's something we really need to improve on. Not just him, he's not the only one that's gotten penalties. But as an offense, that's the biggest thing we need to focus on. Making sure we're playing with good fundamentals. We're focused on that, that way it will eliminate most of those penalties that kill drives.
On the QB situation:
We're kind of preparing for both scenarios. You have your Malik Willis gameplan and you have your Jordan Love gameplan, and there's a lot of similarities but then there's some differences too. So, yeah, it's kind of just preparing for both and seeing what happens on a day-to-day basis.
On facing Minnesota's defense if Love's not 100%:
There's a lot of things you've got to take into consideration with that. It's whether you can get the ball out of your hands faster. Continue to run the ball well, I think that's going to be a big thing and take the pressure off him. But there's going to be situations where we're going to have to throw the ball and that's why we're just evaluating the process of his injury and how he looks at practice to see can he do those things when he's out there. That's the biggest thing – can he run around? Can he make those plays? We don't want to put him out there if he can't. So that's what we're looking at.
