Key comments from Green Bay's coordinators
GREEN BAY – The Packers' coordinators met with the media Monday. Here's a sampling of their key comments:
Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia
On the kicking competition:
It's just early, you know? Just glad they're all healthy and kicking the ball right now. The wind has been a nice, pleasant surprise for us. There hasn't been a tremendously crazy windy day so that's been advantageous to them. But it's still a long process, this is early in the process of what you're trying to get to at the end, and we'll just keep kicking. We're going to have constant conversation about it, and we'll sit down collectively and make a decision when the time comes.
On the possibility of using someone other than the kicker to kick off with the new rules:
Well, you have to have one, first of all. So we'll see what happens when we play those other teams and what they do. I think this new kickoff thing is going to be fun and confusing and different and a lot of questions are going to arise regardless of what position we're talking about.
More on the kickoff and the possibility of rules still changing:
Especially as we go through the first three preseason games, I think there will be some sort of amendments to some of the rules. Maybe amendments to some of the lineups as well. Fortunately we're going to practice against two teams. We've been encouraged to practice this against each other, have conversations about it and talk about sending some of the practice film into the league so they can see what it looks like from a practice setting.
On reducing the penalties on special teams:
I think it has to do a little bit about our play style, to some degree. Depending on what the penalties are. (Also) our youth, to some degree, and then, at times, undisciplined players making personal decisions out of the realm of what we're coaching and what we're teaching. So we hope to rectify that. Penalties are not always an indication of how you're playing, to be honest with you. We have an aggressive play-style. But I'd love for that number to be down.
On P Daniel Whelan in Year 2:
We expect him to play a little bit better. We thought he played really well in the red zone as the year went on. It's something he worked hard at. He's got a big leg. He's really done a good job of improving his holding. He's extremely smart, athletic. We'd like to get our field punts a little bit better directionally. I think he's working on that. So, hope he makes a jump a little bit in the field and continues to improve in the red zone.
Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich
On QB Sean Clifford's INTs in practice:
It's a thing that young guys go through, they've got to learn from their mistakes. Going through his progressions, when he has those opportunities to make throws, (he has to) just make them. This is why you practice is to, again, learn from those mistakes. That way, once he gets to these preseason games, he can be sharp and be on point. Obviously, you never want to turn the ball over. It's one thing that we're all about is just minimizing those.
If guys can't go out there in practice and just play, and they're scared to make mistakes, that's not good. You want them to go out there and play football. So he's just going through it right now, and we'll just keep coaching him up and hopefully look for some improvement as we move forward.
On moving Jordan Morgan to guard:
With young guys, you want to start them at a spot, and you don't want to move them around as much, just so they can hone in on the techniques and the assignments. When you look at the big picture, where you think he would compete best this year for a starting role, we looked and thought the right guard position was the spot. So as of now we'll focus there, and as he grasps it and gets better there, we can move him around if we want to.
He's flashed some really good things. There's a lot of technique stuff that he still needs to learn, just like any young offensive lineman, and especially him going from tackle to guard, there's a learning progression there that you just have to go through. I think he's got a bright future.
On using RB Josh Jacobs in the passing game:
He has a really good knack for running routes, and he's got pretty good hands. So right now we're just seeing what route concepts we think he'd be best at, and then as we move forward, once we get things going, how can we use him the best wayIt'll be exciting moving forward with all that. He's got a great attitude, and you can tell. He's not a super loud vocal guy, but he's just a really focused kid, really intent, really dialed in. He's got a good intensity about him that I really like. And you can tell, he's hungry. He likes it here, he's hungry, and he wants to win.
On Rasheed Walker holding it down at left tackle:
He's got an edge about him. He's a very intense competitor, and that's the one thing that has really helped him. He plays with an edge, and he plays with kind of a chip on his shoulder. With him, there's a big learning curve with buying into technique, buying into things that may not have been as important in the college game, but when you're playing against really good competition every day, you have to be on point with things like that. So once he figured that out – and he's still got improvements to make, but he's making strides – and you couple that with the competitiveness, the effort that he plays with, there's a lot of good stuff there, and he's shown us that he's a guy we can trust there at the spot.
On WR Jayden Reed in Year 2:
He's such a weapon with the ball. It's just a matter of how many times can we get the ball in his hands, and with him, working on the different routes off the stems that we've shown. How can we take that next step with the route concepts, with his route-running ability?
On rookie QB Michael Pratt:
I will say he's learning. He shows really good arm talent, good arm strength. But any quarterback, and Sean Clifford went through this last year, when you start getting into all these installs and all these plays, it's not an easy thing to do. He's very diligent, he's got an excellent work ethic, so I'm just excited to see him two weeks from now, see him by the end of camp, where he is and how he's developed.
On WR Romeo Doubs:
It has been really cool watching Romeo over these last three seasons, the steps he makes every single year. His route-running right now has been pretty tremendous. He's always had super-strong hands but the routes that he's putting on tape right now are pretty impressive. He ended the season last year, the last half of the season, playing at a pretty high level. He's really continued that in camp so far.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley
On the young safeties and the competition:
We did a really good job drafting those guys. So credit to Gutey and his group. They're very smart, very competitive, very instinctual and just the way they've worked. They're in here late at night, they have extra meetings and I think early on they've done a good job of showing us that they understand the scheme and they have the ability to make plays. It's a fun group to work with.
On DL Rashan Gary's strong start:
He's disruptive. What you don't really find out is how hard these guys practice until you get them live, and when you see him get off the ball and you see his intensity and you see his acceleration and you see how disruptive he can be, that's a credit to him. I know he's bought in and I know Rebs (Jason Rebrovich) and coach V.O. (Vince Oghobaase) have done a really good job in that room. But then you see the leadership. There was an instance in practice where he thought we should be even more intense and he asked if he could grab the group. I just looked at him and said, 'Yeah definitely. Take ownership and if you don't like something do something about it.' And he did, and the intensity picked up. It's important to note when your best players are your best leaders and they expect to practice and be great every day, that's special. So I appreciate that from him.
On LB Eric Wilson:
I love the guy. Forget him on the field for a second, I mean off the field, he's one of the best guys you could be around. He's a pro. The way he sits in meeting rooms, takes notes, helps the younger guys, stays after, takes care of his body. You see him show up on special teams, punching the ball out, which I showed to the defense the other day. You see him showing up on defense. He can play multiple positions because he's a very smart player and he's reliable and he's a guy that you can trust that's going to go 100 miles an hour and know exactly what to do, and he's going to try to finish, so I'm very pleased with him. I'm a big fan.
On DL Kenny Clark getting a contract extension:
I think he's so deserving of that in so many different ways in the short period I've been around him. One, you study his film, I think he's one of the best interior D-linemen in the whole National Football League and I think most people would say that, but he's another guy, … they've done such a good job of drafting high-character people that are great people on and off the field and I think Kenny's one of the best. I mean he's such a good pro. He's so good with the younger players. He's so fun to coach. He sits in his room and he takes notes like he's a first-year player. He's a good teammate on the field and he's disruptive. I love what he does off the field. I love what he does on the field even more. I'm very glad that he's going to be here.
On LB Isaiah McDuffie:
He was our starting linebacker my first year as a head coach (at Boston College). It's fun, because he's the same guy. He's the guy that he's going to run through a wall for you. He's a guy that when you turn on the tape and you want to show good examples of effort from a guy running from there to 40 yards down the field, you can turn on any single play and see him. The cool thing is how much he's developed. When I had him there, it was his first year really playing as a stack linebacker in a 4-3-type scheme. Now you can see how much he's grown over the four years that I've been away from him and how much better he's got. The guy just works. You're not going to find a guy outwork him, and then you're going to find a physical guy that's going to put it on the line every single day. That's how he plays and that's how he practices. He's had a really good start. Really good start. It's good to be back with him. He's an awesome guy.
