GREEN BAY – The Packers' coordinators met with the media Thursday. Here's a sampling of their key comments.
Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia
On P Daniel Whelan:
He's certainly an ascending player and at this particular point, he's playing at an elite level. He's so athletic back there. It's kind of like a quarterback that is really good maneuvering in the pocket. He's so athletic with his ability to catch and get the ball out at different angles at times that it's kinda hard to see just watching him play. He has a tremendous leg. He's got great bat speed. He's got really tremendous eye-hand coordination. He's really become a wonderful holder, as well, so I like to think he's gonna keep improving and keep ascending and get a little bit better in the red zone. He complains all the time, he never gets that one bounce. It happened last week again. I thought we'd get a little bit of a kick sideways and just a yard short, but he's definitely an elite player in this league right now.
On K Brandon McManus getting back to his old self:
It's been really good. It feels like he's back. The thing with Brandon, the conversations I've had with him when he went through the Derek Jeter slump as we would call it coming off the quad, I think he's back. I think he feels like he's hitting the ball the way that he wants to hit it and probably, for me, that's the saving grace I feel good about every time he goes out there to kick the ball. Whether he makes it or misses, I feel like who he is when he hits the ball is back and I think that's the biggest compliment I could give to him. I told him you got yourself in this mess, you gotta get yourself out of it and I think he's done a really good job of gaining that confidence back, that swagger back, that personality back, that allows him to be the kicker that he's been all this time.
On Bears returner Devin Duvernay:
He's played well. He's doing both (kickoff and punt). He had the big return against Minnesota, to set them up to win the game and they actually had two (on kickoffs) in the Minnesota game and he's had another plus-40 yard one throughout the year. On punt returns, he's making you understand whether he's going to go to the field [side] or stick his foot in the ground and go north and south, he's got good hands back there. The way their special teams have played, it's enabled them to come back from being behind and put them in position to win some games with field goals.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley
On DL Micah Parsons finding motivation by feeling disrespected:
I think all great players are motivated. I'd like to know who in the right mind would disrespect Micah Parsons. That's a whole other story. But yeah, I think a lot of good coaches and good players go into a dark place on game day and do whatever it takes to win the game. So I'm sure he find a really good one to get into because it seems to be working for him really well, but I don't know how anybody could disrespect him at all. It's not just the production and the sacks. It's just the way he plays the game, how hard he plays it, the knowledge that he has for the game. But I hope he goes into a really dark place on Sunday. I'm excited to see that.
On DL Warren Brinson's play of late:
It's his practice habits. I thought even this week, it's probably been his best week of practice. You get a guy who played a little bit earlier and then hadn't played as much and had another opportunity and took advantage of it. He's starting to understand the speed of the game, just his fundamentals and technique have gotten better. He's starting to strain more, he's starting to get off blocks and tear off blocks. He's got really good pass-rush ability. For a big guy, he's elusive, he's got good hips and he's quick and he can finish. And I think you'll see that. Now in the run game, he's starting to understand that he's got to do his job every play and it's gonna be hard and it's gonna be dirty and grimy, and I think he's starting to embrace that a little bit more. But we're going to need him down in this stretch now.
On LB Isaiah McDuffie filling in for Quay Walker:
McDuffie was outstanding in those two games that he played Mike linebacker. One, I think the communication and the ability to take the call from myself and get the guys lined up and make adjustments with him throughout the game … on the third down stop that we had, we were in a call and they came out in a set and he slid the front. It was almost like I was up in the booth (saying) 'Slide the front, slide the front' but I can no longer get to him on the green dot and as I was saying that, he slid the front and I was like, 'He got it,' which I think was a big step for him and that gives you a small example of what he's been able to do at a hard position to play mentally fairly quickly. Nothing else surprises me. The guy's as tough as they come. He's going to give everything he has on every single play for his teammates and for his coaches and for the Green Bay Packers, and he's physical and he knocks guys backward and he's solid in the run game and he's just a fighter. I love the guy. I think he's got the respect of every person in this organization and he's going to continue to play a lot of football for us.
On S Javon Bullard:
I think Bull is one of our most valuable players. You want to talk about another guy who's similar to McDuffie, who just, his physicality in the run game, his toughness, his details. I mean, he was rerouting and hitting guys on Thanksgiving all over the field. Time and time again he gets guys down, he makes plays, he's in some tough assignments in coverage, he goes back and plays safety. But I think the world of the guy. He's hard to take off the field. He's a guy that really deserves never to come off the field. So we've got to continue to find ways to use him. He's a good blitzer. If you get guys like Bull you're going to win. I mean he just, he loves football. He loves playing the game, he loves practicing the game, he loves the physicality, he doesn't say anything. Again, he's only a second-year player. That's what the coolest thing is about him. He's still young. I'm excited to see what he can do down this stretch. We'll see where he's at for this week, but I love the guy.
On facing the Bears' running game after just facing Detroit RB Jahmyr Gibbs:
Ben (Johnson) does a good job. He's constantly looking for ways to motion you and shift you and create angles and create leverage. You have to be really sound and you have to be really disciplined to play this run game. You can't run up the field, you can't jump out of a gap, you can't pass rush on a run down. You have to be disciplined, you have to leverage the football, you have to get off blocks, you have to stay square, and if you're not, that's what you see. I don't think it was just the Eagles game. I think they've run the ball pretty consistent all year. They ran the ball a lot in that game and they had success doing it, so I'd anticipate the same thing going into our game.
I mean, Gibbs, every time that guy gets the ball, he starts here and you guys saw it. It's like a punt return on every play. You never know where he's going to wind up. That took a lot of strain and it took a lot of effort and it took all 11 guys running to the ball to play as well as we did against Gibbs last week. I think he only had about 60-something yards on his 20 carries, which is an unbelievable day against the guy right now who might be the premier back in the league. Can we go do it again against two more good backs, a good offensive line, and a similar scheme in some regards? So sure, that helps. It should help with the guys' confidence, but that's over. So can you do it again, right? That's going to be the whole key. There needs to be consistency and it will be a challenge.
Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich
On RG Anthony Belton facing Lions DT Alim McNeill:
He's obviously one of the better three-techniques in the game. It was a big challenge for him. I think there were some ups and downs, obviously, with that but anytime you go against a player like that, you can learn a lot from those experiences, and I think that'll benefit him, for sure.
On what WR Jayden Reed can bring when he returns:
I think the playmaking ability he has in the slot is one of the better in the NFL. His explosive ability, his ability to be active in the run game, as well, with some other plays like that. Whenever the point is that we get him back, it definitely opens a lot of things up. It all comes down to if he gets cleared or not – we're still waiting on that – but he's excited, he's ready. And so are we.
On all the Bears' INTs:
It's a combination of a lot of things but the one thing that's super-impressive is the ball skills of those DBs. Anytime they get those opportunities to make those plays, they make them. Rarely do they drop interceptions. Anytime the ball hits their hands, they make those plays. They're very instinctual. You can tell they're coached very well. They have a good knack for the ball. It's going to be a big issue that we have to make sure we do a great job protecting the football.
On WR Dontayvion Wicks' performance in Detroit:
I think it was big. You see the tremendous talent that he has, and for him to have a game like that where he finally scores a couple touchdowns and made some really big plays, I can't say I'm surprised by it at all just because I know the skills that he has. It's good because just having the ability to get the ball to Christian, to Romeo, to Wicks, all those guys with Tucker going down, everyone has to step up and I think every week a different guy has, and that's what makes our offense pretty dangerous, in my opinion.
