GREEN BAY – The Packers' coordinators met with the media Tuesday. Here's a sampling of their key comments.
Special teams coordinator Cam Achord
On Coleman Owen and when the decision was made for him to be punt returner:
Saturday. I think it's a fluid situation every week, see who's available, who's healthy at the end of the day on Friday, talk about it, make the decisions on Saturday. Obviously did a really good job, went back there, 16-yard return, no hesitation for him catching the ball or anything like that, was able to get vertical. Proved himself really good right there. Now you're just working to fine tune things. There's some things we've worked to improve that he's taken great pride in and done a really good job.
On J. Michael Sturdivant on kickoff returns:
We talk about being able to handle those line drives and catching them in the air. That's a big thing, because of that artificial hang time. He didn't panic, caught the ball square, was able to get vertical. Obviously the first one we want more than we got there. The second one he got out past the 30, so that was good. He definitely has the element of size and he does have that speed. So there's definitely something to build on.
On Trey Smack's strong bounce back:
He had a really good pregame. I don't know how many he made or missed to be honest with you. It's just the more reps you get in any environment, the better you're going to improve. That's anything we do. The more kicks you get in the stadium, the more kicks he gets in the wind and he's going to continue to get better. When you see the ball going through the uprights, it gives you that confidence. He's in a good headspace. He's got the great mental makeup that we talk about. I'm very pleased with that.
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon
On the performance vs. Dallas:
Loved our play style. I thought we executed at a high level fundamentally, talking about fundamentals and technique. I thought we tackled really well, block destruction was good, and we covered well. We kind of did the basics very well and our offense helped us out scoring points. When you can make a team one-dimensional at any part of the game you should have the upper hand a little bit. Hats off to our players and our entire team.
On Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, with whom he has history, plus more on Detroit:
Yeah, it's a really good offense. I just left the meeting, there's no tendencies. He's creative as all get out. He uses his playmakers in a way to showcase their talents. The quarterback does an excellent job of getting them in the right plays to put you as a defense at a disadvantage. When you want to be aggressive, he burns you. When you want to be safe, he burns you. So we get a big-time challenge.
Dan Campbell, like, we know what he's about. They play hard. They are tough. They're physical. That comes from the head coach, and then the coordinator, and then the position coach. It's Hank Fraley, their O-line coach, run game coordinator. This O-line is souped up now. They've got good players. They've collectively play well together. They communicate. They never bust. Their protection scheme is on point, and then they can run it to win, and they can throw it to win. So when you talk about defending this crew, it's a lot different challenge this week … We better match or exceed their play style, because they bring it. They've scored 30 every time they touch the grass, and I bet they're saying they got more points out there that can be had. But it's going to be a fun challenge on the road, and we've got to play good ball to have a chance.
On Evan Williams:
First thing as a safety, be reliable; he's reliable. His skill-set allows him to make a lot of different plays and a lot of different calls. He's physical, he's extremely intelligent and he puts time on task. I love how Matt says it, to play like a 'G,' you better prepare like a 'G.' He studies. When you study the way he does – and he's not the only one – he knows what's going on. Nothing's catching him by surprise. When you talk to him throughout the week, he knows exactly why calls are going in. Before you even have to tell him the why behind it, he knows why. That's been cool to see. He's playing very well. I don't get into the grades and all that stuff but he's a good player.
On Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs:
Woo. He's faster than everybody. He has elite vision, I would say. He can make any cut that you want, he's got really good contact balance, he's stronger – for not like a huge back, I think he breaks a lot of tackles. And in the pass game, he's a run-and-pass threat. He's a really good player. Big-time challenge. We always say point of attack. There's certain plays at the point of attack where the ball is. All 11 are at the point of attack when you defend this guy.
Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich
On the run game and getting Josh Jacobs back:
It relies on everybody, whether its scheme or blocking or running, I think everyone has to do a better job, starting with me. That's a big focus for us as we're going further into the season. Now, Josh I think will definitely help for sure. He's an excellent player and he'll provide some good spark for our offense, so I'm excited about that. But yeah, we just all need to do a better job. (Jacobs) looks great. He comes to meetings and he's in there with us, then he goes and does his workouts. But he's been working really hard and I'm really excited to get him back.
On Detroit's defense and the Lions coming off a bye:
The one thing about these guys is we've got to be ready for everything. They bring a lot of different fronts. They bring a lot of different pressures. I think their D-line is really good. Obviously Hutchinson and McNeill are excellent players, Wonnum's got a lot of sacks so they're playing really well up front. Their linebackers are athletic and aggressive. Their front's salty so we've got to make sure we do a nice job of handling those guys because it's going to be a tall task for sure. You get that extra time to game plan people and you're going to have some new things that you've got to deal with.
On Savion Williams' return:
He's big, he's athletic, he's as talented a guy as we have on this team and it's just, for him, learning how to run routes, how to get open. And that's been nice. Like you saw that play on the third down, he used his leverage, broke away from the coverage and made a nice play, and I think we're going to see a lot more of that from him.
On Matthew Golden's drops and level of concern:
No, no, I'm not concerned just because I know the type of player that he is and it's, again, just one of those things that you can't lose trust in yourself. You got here for a reason. You are the player who you are for a reason. We all trust him. Jordan trusts him. I know he's going to make those plays. The ball's going to keep coming his way, so yeah, it's just one of those things. You just got to work through it, trust yourself and keep your confidence.
On Jordan Love delivering under pressure:
He's definitely getting hit way too hard. Some things, we've got to do a better job in protection with the O-line and with the backs. There were a couple plays where we were not on the same page last week, so we've got to make sure we clean that up because you can't have free runners at the quarterback. You've got to make sure you protect him and then again, doing a better job with our twist mechanics. The Lions do a really nice job with their twists. So we're going to have a big week of working on that.
