Continue reading...
Packers coach Mike McCarthy had a of of praise for James Jones and Clay Matthews in his press conference following Green Bay’s season opening victory over the Bears.
Other highlights from his press conference:
* It’s a good way to start the season. “A lot of good things to build off of. A lot of things we can learn from.”
* Wanted to establish the run and the pass. “Aaron and Tom Clements did an excellent job handling that; Aaron did a good job managing things at the line of scrimmage.”
* “The run defense was a bit of an issue in the beginning.” “Came in with a lot of respect for Matt Forte and really he obviously played very well in the first half. We’ll have some things to learn from there.”
* “The pre-snap penalties – there’s no excuse for that. We’ve got to get rid of that.” “Clay coming up with the huge play, the fourth down stop down there in the fourth quarter – those are huge plays for us on defense and definitely the turning point in the game.”
* James Jones: “Knowing Aaron Rodgers and their relationship, if I was a betting man, I would have bet the ball was going to go to him. James looks like he never left. He’s in playing shape. Aaron and JJ have a connection as far as timing and so forth. JJ made a huge catch in the end zone to our left. I’m not surprised at all JJ came in and stepped right in and was able to play.”
* Defense. “We’ve got to clean up the penalties. … Our run defense improved in the second half.”
* Lacy’s catch. “It wasn’t practiced that way I can assure you that. Hell of a play by Aaron and obviously catch by Eddie.”
* Peppers. “Julius – Father Time is treating him well. He’s the same player every day.”
* “We have a group of men that have spent a lot of time together.”
* “I’m glad James Jones is here. It’s great to have him back. He’s a great guy in our locker room. He’s a wonderful family man. He’s always represented the Packers the right way.”
* “He’s a pro. James is a man who puts in a lot of extra hours. It’s not uncommon to run in to him late at night downstairs doing extra things whether it is in the weight room or the training room. That’s how you play the way he played today. He’s a sneaky preparation guy. He doesn’t really want you to know he’s down there doing it but he puts in a lot of extra time.”
* Great respect for the rivalry. Bears were a point in the highlight video with the team before the game.
* “Clay Matthews is obviously a terrific talent. Let alone an outstanding football player. I thought he was going to score. If he keeps cutting back like that, we might have to get him on offense. That was a big time play. That was a play we needed. I thought that play changed the game.”
* Ty Montgomery. “He made really good decisions on when to bring the ball out of the end zone. Blocking unit did a really good job. Ty ran his track and hit it, the blocking and second effort by our return unit looked to be darn good.”
* “Special teams did a lot of good things today. Our return game was really good. ... We didn’t see anything crazy schematically from them today.
