QB Aaron Rodgers focuses on maintaining momentum throughout the season
QB Aaron Rodgers spoke with the media on Wednesday regarding the Denver Broncos and what goes into preparing for a game as well as a plethora of other topics in the team’s locker room.
On preparations/what it takes: “I think you just grind through it, you know, we’ve done this over the years, you’re always going to have Thursday night games; at least one every season so you know it’s a tight week and you know I think the staffs across the league and I’m sure our staff gets a jump start on Saturdays on the next opponent; that’s just kind of the way they’ve always done it. You just know it’s gonna be in the next day and no days off that next week. Luckily, we’re at home; you know, we’ve had a number of these at home and done really well over the years so we gotta take care of business on Sunday and then get ready for a short week knowing there’s a nice little break coming at the end of it.”
On Vic Fangio & the problems he presents for him as Denver’s head coach: “Well you know it’s a new system they’re working through. Obviously, what they like and figuring out what things they’re gonna show. The biggest thing is the personnel. They mix a lot of different personnel, you know, they won’t match every time like a lot of teams will match nickel to sub and base against base personnel, they’ll do some mix-matches; they’ll go base against sub, they’ll go nickel against twelve personnel, they’ll run five or six defensive linemen/rush type guys on the field which we saw last year when he was in Chicago. He’s a fantastic coach. I’m happy for him getting the opportunity after so many years of being a great assistant in the league; I haven’t spent a lot of time with him but I have a ton of respect for the way he’s gone about his business over his career.”
On facing three sets of talented pass rushers over the last few weeks: “I think that’s the nature of the league. The more pass rushers the better. You know, we’ve faced some tough ones in the last few weeks. Obviously, the first week with a couple of great ones, then last week with a couple of great ones, then this week with a couple of great ones as well so the stress is definitely on our tackles every week it seems like with tough matchups. These guys will play more right and left with their outside rushers so it’s gonna be Bryan on Von a lot and Dave on Chubb. Both are really great players and it’s something those guys will be ready for. You have to have a plan for them and I think the two teams that have played them so far have had a plan trying to slow them down with different things and again, that’s the way of the league. When you’ve got such great rushers off the edge, you gotta give them different looks so they can’t just tee off and know they’re rushing against a tackle every single play.”
On RT Bryan Bulaga and the type of player, he’s become: “He’s a warrior, you know. He’s a guy you love lining up with, you love being in the huddle with, and you love being in the locker room with. You guys (media) probably see maybe the snarky or grumpy side from time to time, but he is a lot of fun to be around, he’s been on my right side for so many years now. People forget that he was there in 2010; one of the few whose got a ring left in this locker room. He’s just a guy you love playing with; he’s tough, he’s smart, he understands his strengths really well, he understands the offense exceptionally, he’s just a heady player who’s just so smart, tough, and reliable when he’s out there at right tackle for us.”
On Aaron Jones and the impact he has on the offense with his pass-catching ability at running back: “Well, objectively, it looks really good, subjectively, it’s really impressive just to see the work he puts in during the week. Obviously, on the field, he’s a slashing runner who’s very slippery. He doesn’t take a lot of squared up shots for a guy who’s not a huge back. Aaron [Jones] gives you that slashing mentality with the speed, he really has that speed to take it the distance every time he touches the ball. I think that where he’s grown the most is his patience. [More specifically], getting behind blocks, letting them set up, pressing his aiming points, and then cutting, and then using the stiff arm. That’s what he does, he has that incredible balance you just can’t teach. He’s just got fantastic hands; he’s got John Kuhn type hands. He has great ball skills.”
On the up-tempo offensive style under coach LaFleur: “I think the tempo is something we can work in and out of as opposed to years past when we did sustained drives of consistent tempo. You know, we’ve been jumping in and out of it a little bit more this year so far through two games and we’ve had success with it. The key is first and second down; converting and giving ourselves more opportunities so we can get into that stuff. We’ll continue to work that in.”
On the value & importance of early-season division wins: “They’re extremely valuable. You know, there’s been games over the years that we’ve lost in these situations early in the season that have come down to be tiebreakers late in the year when we needed to win games to get in the playoffs. The goals here haven’t changed, it’s winning championships; it starts with winning the [NFC] North, we’re 2-0 in the North which is a great start. Like I said after the [Viking] game, we won one game in the North last year so we’re already improving over that. I think for Matt [LaFleur], it legitimizes everything he’s been talking about from day one when he got here. I think the other thing it does is it really highlights how well our defense has been playing.”
On the impact of the defensive front/Smith brothers through two games: “Lotta juice man, lotta juice. You guys see it ya know, they’re doing interviews together now and they really do enjoy each other; they love each other. It’s fun having those guys in the locker room. The energy is just way, way up. His ability [Za’darius] to play inside and outside is incredible and the consistency of rushes from both of those guys. I think one guy who is maybe the quietest, underrated star in this league is Kenny Clark. The way that he played last week was incredible. He does it all the time but he doesn’t do it with boisterous, crazy, loud celebrations or animated press conferences, he just goes about and does his business. Having those two guys outside continues to free him up for one-on-one blocks inside and he’s played great. I thought Dean [Lowry] had a great game; again, I’m not watching their film but just based on some of the plays that we saw, I thought the consistency from our defensive front has been the difference-maker in those two games.”
On the improved level of crowd noise during home games: “I thought the crowd was awesome. I understand 12 o’clock games are, you know, it’s early for all of us. I think everybody loves night games. It’s just a different air and atmosphere and excitement. It feels like high school football or a big college football game mentality where you’re waiting around all day; [you] can’t wait to get out there. [With] noon games, you gotta get up early and get the energy going early. I thought the energy from our crowd was amazing; I thought that the noise was great. I thought it was one of our best home crowds we’ve had in a long time.”
On Thursday night’s game against Philadelphia possibly being a trap game: “I don’t believe in trap games. I think the preparation has to stay sharp regardless of who you are playing and who’s coming up down the line. I don’t think there’s anybody in the locker room who’s looking like: “Oh man, I can’t wait until next Thursday to play the Philadelphia Eagles.” This is an important game. This is the next step in our season and it’s an important one.” I think we know who they are; they’re 0-2, they’ve lost a couple of tight ones; one-score games, last week was obviously right down to the wire. They’re going to be coming in with a game that they need to win to get going in the right direction. We need to win it to keep the momentum going.”
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