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Click here for more NFL Combine Headlines & Video
Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy addressed the media at the NFL Scouting Combine on Friday afternoon. Here is a transcript of his press conference:
(Have you talked to Aaron Rodgers about his rehab and was he disappointed about the news with Brett?)
I've talked to Aaron a few times, I talked to him the day of the announcement. Actually just talked to him again yesterday. His rehab is going well. We don't foresee any setbacks. He'll be part of the quarterback school and the offseason program, which starts March 19, and he's handling the news.
(Do you expect him to be able to do everything on March 19?)
We're anticipating him to do everything.
(With the impact your rookies made last year, do you look for that again or do you need veteran additions?)
My concentration is on the people we have. I know player acquisition is important through the draft and free agency, but the biggest improvement in our football team will come over the next four months -- March, April, May and June, and the people we have there. That's really my primary focus. We're really looking forward to kicking off our offseason program and taking advantage of all those young guys getting a year better.
(To what do you attribute the improvement on your offensive line last year?)
Number one, the players did a heck of a job. Just going through the cut-ups, which every team goes through right now with scheme evaluation, you could just see the progress, particularly the inside players had throughout the year, so we're very pleased with that. And also it comes into play with the continuity of the whole line. We were conservative in some of our approaches schematically. I think that probably helped the development and let the maturity take the time that it needed, but it's really the collective group. I think the coaching staff, Joe Philbin all the way down, James Campen, Jerry Fontenot did a phenomenal job. I'm really happy with the direction that room is going. It's a very important room as far as our program. I've stated over and over again how important the offense and defensive line is, and I'm very happy with the development so far in the offensive line.
(What are the most pressing needs on offense?)
Pressing needs? Improvement. Frankly, I'm really focused on the individuals we do have there. Everybody wants to talk about who's out there, I'm more focused on who's going to be there March 19. On the offensive line, we need to get stronger, we need to be able to knock people off the ball, get better at the scheme we implemented last year. I foresee that happening. We need more production in the pass perimeter out of the tight ends. We'll work on that this offseason. Our quarterback play as a group, we need to improve, and the wide receivers, we have some good young wide receivers that will be competing for jobs. And the running back group, the fullback position, I thought we did a very good job as the year went on developing and getting better at the new scheme. We've got a bunch of young halfbacks, and hopefully Ahman, we'll get that worked out. So I feel good about our offensive group and the direction we're going.
(Is William Henderson still in your plans?)
As we've stated, we'd like to have all those guys back. Those are conversations that are going on right now.
(How do you improve in the red zone?)
Score more touchdowns, that's obviously the focus. Watching the red zone, it's something I think clearly as an offense we need to improve on, it's the production on first down. It's something that needs to increase. It really showed up in the red zone area. Everything else is more, just different things. Just fundamental, catching the football, better routes. Just the little fundamentals of the game that obviously are important, and we just need to do a better job. But there's no one glaring statistic outside of winning on first down that we need to improve on.
(Is there a personnel need there?)
I think the people that we have in place, it's the job of myself and the coaching staff to put those players in position to make plays regardless of the situation. Football, like many other sports, is about situations and fundamentals. With red zone being the situation, we just need to improve on the fundamentals.
(Do you have any interest in Aaron Brooks?)
We really haven't talked about him. I obviously coached Aaron in the past. As I view our quarterback group right now, obviously with Brett and the experience you have there, and the development of young quarterbacks is something I've always believed in and something I've always focused on. As far as Aaron and how he'd fit in, that's something I haven't given any thought to. He's obviously a guy that's played in the system that could probably add some value to your program.
(When is the last time you talked to Brett?)
Within the week.
(What's the game plan for him in the offseason?)
We've talked about the targets we need to hit. Number one, hopefully he'll get the surgery done here in the next couple weeks. Then from that starts his rehab and then go into his workout program. I'm looking for a similar amount of participation through the mini-camps and OTAs that we had from him last year.
(Did Rock design a workout program for him?)
With Dr. McKenzie, Rock and Mark Lovat, everybody is involved in what we need to do to rehab the ankle.
(If he has the procedure, do you expect him to report for the May 18 mini-camp?)
Correct, yes. That's what we're shooting for.
(How long will his rehab be?)
I'm told eight to 10 weeks.
(Do you have any thoughts on all the rumors about Randy Moss?)
Once again, you're talking about players who are under contract with other teams. I know that's been the standard answer, but that's the correct answer. You have the opportunity to obtain players for your program through the draft and free agency, and he's not a part of free agency, so that's really where I stand on that.
(If Brett is healthy on May 18, how much do you plan to have him participate?)
Obviously where Brett is with his age and everything, and coming off the surgery, that's something that really the medical part of it will be the primary focus. That's something I can probably give a better answer to as we get closer to that date.
(You've talked about changing your approach in training camp. What are you thinking about?)
I haven't finalized it yet. When you go through your first year, obviously you have to be critical of yourself. The one thing in training camp last year I felt, particularly the third week, that I could probably have done a better job with the recovery, the recovery aspect of the players. So that's something I'm looking into, cutting back and just being smart with the time management, not having continuous five, six days on their legs, things like that. I don't have the preseason games set, but those are some things we're looking to adjust.
(Did you like the night time practices? Will you stay with that?)
Absolutely. I liked the night time practices. We'll stay with the 2-1-2 program as far as the scheduling, but as far as the exact number of practices and things like that, that's something I'm looking closer into.
(What do you need to take the next step?)
Once again, best player available. That may be a vague answer, but you're looking for good football players that fit your program. That's really what our focus is. We have a certain way how we go about things on both the offense and defensive line, we play a certain way on the perimeter, and we're looking for that type of athlete, that type of football player with the character to fit the Green Bay Packers.
(What do you need to see from Robert Ferguson to keep him over some of the younger guys?)
I've already seen enough out of Ferguson to know he's worthy to play on our football team. He has to compete just like everybody else. The thing about Robert, everybody wants to talk about starting position. The starting position, whether it's two receivers, three receivers, frankly, that's not my focus. He needs to be a contributing starter both on offense and special teams. He's a special teams player that has played very well there in the past, and we're looking to get more of a contribution out of him there.
(Do you need to get faster on offense?)
You always want to get faster as a team. We're not trying to win a 40-yard race, but we're always looking to improve our team speed.
(Are you hoping to have Koren in the mix?)
I really can't even get into that as far as his situation with the National Football League, so we'll just hold judgment on that. Obviously we hope he is able to get through his process. He had a very positive experience in his time there, and I hope he's able to get through this process.
(Do you need to get an immediate impact player in the first round?)
You always like for your first-round pick to be an impact player, obviously that's why you pick him in the first round. Early indications, it looks like we're going to be able to get a very good football player there, and it's our job as a coaching staff to put him in position to contribute.
(How much emphasis do you put on the 1-on-1 interviews you do with prospects here?)
They're important, that's why we do them, and that's why we spend the extra time preparing as a staff, getting ready for those interviews. You only have a certain time allotment and you want to get as much done as you can in that time frame. It's important. Me personally, it's the first time you're able to put a name with a face, and watch a young man communicate, get a sense for his personality, his understanding of football, life and things like that as far as the questioning and answering segment that we go through. So I think it's important, but once again, the bottom line is what he does on the football field.
(When you see what happened with Marty Schottenheimer in San Diego, how important do you feel it is for a coach and GM to have a strong working relationship?)
Once again, we've talked a lot throughout this first year about structure, about atmosphere. To have a healthy atmosphere, the two people at the top of the food chain need to obviously have a strong working relationship. When I took this job, Ted Thompson talked specifically about having a partnership, and it's something that's a primary target of mine on a daily basis, and I've stayed focus on that. As far as disagreeing, to quote Marty Schottenheimer, he used to tell us all the time when I was on his staff, it's your responsibility to disagree, but once a decision is made not to be disagreeable. I think that's something that any coach or in any working relationship is good advice.
(What does Ahman Green still have left and what kind of workload can he handle?)
I think he still has a lot left in his tank. I think we probably pushed the envelope with him a little bit too much early in the season. When he was around 20, 22 carries a game, he was very productive, and I still think he's a very productive football player.