GREEN BAY – The Packers' coordinators and offensive assistants met with the media over the past couple of days.
Here's a sampling of their key comments:
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett
On dealing with such a rough Week 1:
I don't think it's ever easy. We all know that's unacceptable for us. It's not the standard that any of us have, or want. We're all frustrated. But the idea in this league is you have to learn from it, put it aside, because you've got another game coming up. You always hear people talk about how humbling this game is, and that's why it's so awesome. You can be at the very top, and you can go all the way down to the bottom, and that's when you get to find out about the character of the coaches, the players, everybody.
On Aaron Rodgers coming back from a game like that:
Aaron can be very scary sometimes. But it's great, that's why he's such an amazing competitor. A game like that he learns from, even at this time in his career, he still learns about himself and the team and everybody around him. He definitely has that mindset of we have to turn this thing around. He's still him, we're all still us, but you can definitely feel it wasn't something he was excited about, and I don't want to kick that hornet's nest too much.
Defensive coordinator Joe Barry
On Za'Darius Smith being out for a while:
When you lose a guy like Za'Darius Smith, what he brings to us from a physicality standpoint and obviously from a pass-rush standpoint, when you lose a player like that, that's a big deal. But it is what it is. We want him to get back whenever he can and in his absence, we're going to have to step up and create some things, but it's a great opportunities for a bunch of guys to be able to go show what they've got.
On the Lions' Jared Goff to T.J. Hockenson connection:
A lot of times, I think it's very natural for quarterbacks to kind of have their comfort, I don't want to say security blanket but guys that they feel they have a really good rapport with. Obviously Jared had that with Cooper Kupp in L.A. the last handful of years. I already can see that '16' and '88' have that in just the short time that they've been playing together. But when you talk about that tight end, he's a really, really good player. The thing I respect most about his game is that in this day and age a lot of times big-time tight ends are basically glorified big wideouts. I like all the dirty work that this guy does.
Special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton
On new punter Corey Bojorquez's debut:
He did well. He handled the ball well, handled the conditions well. He's a professional. He kicked in Buffalo, which is a very tough place to cut your teeth. So, we're very pleased with his progression thus far. His gross was 44. We ended up netting about 40, which, we want more. We're working on more. But we're excited about it.
On coming close to blocking a punt vs. Saints:
We do calculated studies on that. If I'm not mistaken, it was fourth-and-6, or more, so yes, we want him to run after it, try to get that ball, try to block it. Because if you get a running into the kicker penalty, that's only 5 yards. What we stay away from is the roughing calls, which is a larger penalty and would give them a first down in that situation. But we're going to be more aggressive. I think it's known that we're going to be, so teams are going to have to protect against us. We're going to try and get after them a little bit.
Quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Luke Getsy
On Aaron Rodgers bouncing back:
His approach is always really good going into each week. All those experiences I've had with him, it's not like the next week has been a different week of practice or he changes his personality or anything like that. I think the guys just really appreciate his consistency and they lean on that. They see no panic in him, so they're confident to be able to go out and do their job too.
On Jordan Love's regular-season debut:
I thought he handled himself well, he communicated well, and we had a decent drive and another young-guy mistake when we get in that red zone. That's this league, man. That's an area where every detail and everything happens so fast that, yeah, I wish it was the other way, but still, I think it was valuable for him and it gives him confidence if he has to play down the road.
Running backs coach Ben Sirmans
On AJ Dillon vs. Saints:
I thought he was pretty physical on his finishes. He's been having a really good week of practice. Once again, I continue to expect big things out of him. Now that he's got that part of it down in terms of being the No. 2 guy. I was pretty pleased with what I saw but also knowing and understanding he still has a lot more to give.
Offensive line coach/run game coordinator Adam Stenavich
On the two rookie starters up front:
I thought they handled themselves well. They had a couple bad plays that we gotta fix. So, we're just going to keep moving forward from where we're at right now. But there wasn't any too-big-for-the-moment or anything like that. They came out and competed and did a good job. For those two guys, Royce Newman and Josh Myers, I think it was a good start and we just gotta keep improving from there.
On bouncing back from losses:
I think it's just our process, we trust our process. We've just got to make sure when we go out there we execute what we plan. I think the biggest thing is just not panicking, just hunkering down and doing your job. We've got a really good group, really good guys, character guys, that work hard.
Tight ends coach Justin Outten
On what two-high safety defenses mean for Robert Tonyan:
It definitely opens up underneath. It opens up the run game, for sure, too, moving forward. He's a guy that can match up against a 'backer that's going to play you man or two high. He's going to be able to be put in those windows to help the offense move the ball a little bit more. There's things that we have for him.
On Marcedes Lewis' leadership:
It echoes through the hallways for sure, not only being the size he is, the man he is in the locker room, but guys across the ball show respect to him, coming up to him before and after a game. You'll hear guys on the sidelines screaming for him when he's doing really well out there. You'll hear barking throughout the entire sideline when he gets the ball and it's not just offensive guys. He's a guy that people want to emulate. He's been in the league for a long, long time, and anytime you have a career as long as he does, you're trying to figure out what the secret potion is or what are some tricks of the trade they can take into their game and their career, and he's open to sharing that information because he wants the best for his teammates.
Wide receivers coach Jason Vrable was not available this week
