GREEN BAY – The Packers' coordinators met with the media on Wednesday in advance of Saturday's NFC Wild Card playoff at Chicago. Here's a sampling of their key comments.
Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia
On losing Bo Melton to injury:
Not good, you know? Bo's kind of like, he's our inspirational guy. And the way he plays, he plays so many different places for us. He does so many things. Disappointing not having him the way he played all year, and getting to this point where we're in the playoffs and he can't go, do what he's been doing, and he makes a big play last week on the big punt. So it's not good not having him. I feel worse for him than I do for the rest of us, for what he puts into this and the spirit and the energy that he brings to us. So he'll be missed for sure.
On P Daniel Whelan leading the league in punting:
He's an ascending player. He works extremely hard at it, and he takes advantage of the opps that he gets. You know, we haven't punted a lot this year, so he's been in different positions. I think he does a really good job of, as we get going through a game, where is he on the field, and what kind of punt does he want to hit? And then, talking about Bo, and we had Zayne (Anderson), and some really good cover guys playing on the outside for him, and our punt unit inside has done a good job protecting him and giving him confidence that he can put the ball where he wants. But I still think he's an ascending player. I still think he's got room to grow if he keeps working the way he's been working. Hopefully this will be a consistency he plays with. It'll be a level that he plays with for a long time.
On who can step up without Melton and Zayne Anderson:
Well, we hope to get Nick (Niemann) back, we'll see what happens. He has been elevated and back to practicing a little bit. So we'll see what that looks like. We've gotten (Lukas) Van Ness back. That's, that's been good for us. I know his role on defense has also increased, and JJ (Kingsley Enagbare) has been a stalwart for us for the year. So we'll see what some of the younger guys do that got a chance to run around last week a little bit, and they may get a chance again this week to see how they can help us in the game. But next man up is always the philosophy. Sometimes the next man up just doesn't look like the guy that was, that went down, but the expectations and the standards really don't change.
On K Brandon McManus and the operation:
We do feel good about the battery. The battery hasn't been an issue. Obviously, Brandon going through an injury, him thinking he could come back, maybe quicker than he actually did come back, right? We've had those conversations. So we talked about where he is now psychologically. He's got the crack back in his neck, and he's got his attitude back, and he's got his personality back. So I think you've seen that. Chicago, last time we kicked a 48-yard PAT in a little bit of a difficult climate down there. That's really who he is right now. I think he has tremendous confidence in the way in which Daniel holds the football and getting it right lean and the things that he needs to be successful. And then, I've talked about Matt (Orzech) before. Matt's just kind of a calming force.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley
On CB Keisean Nixon getting another crack at the Bears:
I think he'll play a great game. I know he's super locked in. I know he was kind of a hero in that first game, and I know that meant a lot to him, especially in the rivalry, and I know he probably (would like to have) had that last play of regulation back. But that's life as a corner in this league. But I'm excited for him. He's a competitor. He's a guy who's kind of always been an underdog. He's kind of always been a guy that's had to work his way up to get where he's been. And just knowing him and what he's been through and what he's made of and, if I had to put money on it, I'd say he's going to have a pretty good game. And I believe in him, and I have total confidence in him. I'm excited for him to get back out there on that field and play again.
On CB Trevon Diggs' debut in Minnesota and if he can help in the playoffs:
He had a wristband on, so we had some calls there to help him out. The safeties, those young guys did a good job of communicating the calls. I think when he first got out there, he was kind of playing a little loose and playing a little off the ball, but you could see the more comfortable he got, the more aggressive he was. I liked his physicality. He got off blocks on a screen and he made the play on one down our right sideline. So for being here really one practice, I thought he did a really nice job. It's cool to see the last couple of days how he's integrated with our players, how he's been in meetings. Overall I just think he has more confidence right now in our scheme, so I'd be very comfortable to play him.
The biggest thing I keep talking to him about is I want him to try to learn it as quickly as he can, because when he gets out there, I don't want him thinking. I want him playing fast and not hesitate, because I think when players think and they try to overdo it, it doesn't usually go very well.
We won't have to limit him. I think now with Xavier and Evan and Bull being back there, I think those guys can really help him and kind of guide him if he doesn't know something and communicate. That might put a little more pressure on those safeties, but they're really smart safeties and it's kind of like having a coach in another voice out there to help him, so when he does play, there will not be a limit in the playbook.
On the defensive performance vs. the Bears last time:
We had a good 59 minutes in the last game that we played them, truthfully. But I give them credit. After they got the onside kick, they went down and scored. Then they hit the big play. So I thought we had a good game plan. I thought we executed for the majority of the game at a really high level. I thought we played physical. I thought we stopped the run. Third down, we were extremely efficient getting pressure on the quarterback. But that's not good enough, right? I said 59 minutes. I didn't say 60. We have to finish for 60 minutes. And that's what it's going to take to beat the Bears, and that's what it's going to take to win a playoff game. So whatever we have to do, whatever adjustments we have to make throughout the game, we've got to finish it. We've got to start fast, but we need to finish, and clearly we didn't do a good enough job the last time we played them.
On where the run defense is and how the reserves played at Minnesota:
Our young guys did a really good job against the Vikings starters. That's one thing we should acknowledge and give them credit. As a coach this season, we've had a lot of good things happen. We've played really good defense for a majority of the season. One of my most proud moments was watching those young guys get their opportunity against a really good Vikings offense with very talented players and their starters and watching how hard they played and holding those guys to 16 points. To see those players sit in the locker room after the game, we had some guys in tears knowing that they just had an opportunity to play in an NFL game, that was a proud moment – like really cool – moment as a coach. That's one of the reasons you do this … but yeah, I think we played the run pretty well for a majority of the year. Obviously, we talked about the Baltimore game. It starts with lining up and doing our jobs consistently, which we failed to do that night, but I'm excited to get another shot at Chicago and do it. They have a very explosive run group with Monangai and Swift and the quarterback, obviously, can run the ball. I think their O-line's really good and they're one of the best run offenses in the NFL. So, we're going to have to show it but I don't want to talk about it, I want to go do it. And that's been our whole mentality for the week.
On being mentioned as a potential head coaching candidate for open jobs:
I'll tell you this, hearing my name out there it's obviously extremely flattering, and very humbling, right? I think when you work for an organization like the Packers and have a head coach like Matt and players like we do and a defensive staff like we do, I'm just honored to be in those (conversations). Right now with all that stuff, it can be a distraction, so I'm trying to lock in on these playoffs and do the best that we can and then whenever that time comes, we'll figure it out and go from there. But extremely honored and flattered, just to be mentioned, but for right now, this is the Bears. This is one of the biggest rivalries in all of football, one that I have watched for a very long time. Did not end the way we wanted to the last time we played there, so I'm going to do everything in my power to focus on every minute that I have to give this organization and our players everything I got to go win this game.
Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich
On the Bears' defense and all the turnovers:
You've got to really do a great job anytime you catch the ball or run with the ball of just being really focused on making sure you have a ball at the end of the play. They do an excellent job tackling the football, punching at the football, ripping at the football. They got one out on us last time we played them down in the red zone. That was a big play for them. So we got to make sure we do a great job with that. Their DBs, they've got really good ball skills. They can catch the ball. They don't really lose too many opportunities by dropping the ball. So they do a nice job just being around the football.
On Sean Rhyan's acclimation to center:
It kind of was an experiment at first. But no, it's been great. Like he's really grabbed that role and done an excellent job with it. Ever since he's been here, he's kind of always snapped and just in the back of your mind, 'All right, hey, just get some snaps. And just make sure, in case we need you for an emergency, you can play some center.' But then as he got better, and as he kept playing, you're like, 'Wow, this guy could be pretty good.' And then he's done a nice job just running the show up there and executing.
He's a competitor. Definitely. I think that's just something about him. He's going to do whatever you ask of him, do what's best for the team, and just do it with a smile on his face and as hard as he can. Huge amount of respect just how he goes about it. He's a pro.
He's very stout. He's strong. He gets his hands up people, he does a nice job locking them down. And his football IQ has really grown since he got here, so that's been cool to see. Just how much more intelligent he is, able to make calls and know the entire scheme of the offense, things like that. Yeah, he's a strong kid, really strong. I think that's his biggest attribute, is that he gets his hands on people and he can shut them down.
