Congrats. Big win. Listen, games are won in the fourth quarter of this league. The effort, some gassed defensive line coming through those last four plays. Talk about the effort of those guys to finish off the game.
We've talked about from a defensive standpoint, they're the heartbeat of our team, that D-line is. We go as they go, and they just kept fighting. Will McDonald was unbelievable. And credit to that quarterback, he got out of some stuff that was —I thought he was dead for rights. Again, we fought, kept swinging. We knew today wasn't going to be easy with all the travel but credit our guys, they kept answering the call.
Did Jermain (Johnson) tear his Achilles?
It's unfortunately looking like that. We'll confirm tomorrow but it doesn't look good.
What can you say about the last drive, that last scoring drive there, with Aaron (Rodgers) leading them down the field?
Just big catches all the way around. Garrett (Wilson) had a big one. Mike Williams, we're second-and-15 and Mike gets a big, big, big, big catch to extend the drive and then we were able to finish it on the ground. Braelon (Allen), who I thought I had a really nice day. But just overall, it's a little inconsistent right now, which is to be expected, but at the same time, we know that every time we touch the ball we can score. And to put up 24 points in this league against a defense like that, a veteran defense that's really sound, really well coached, to put up 24 points on the road, it's pretty good.
Let's talk about Braelon Allen and what he was able to give you offensively.
Yeah, you guys saw him in training camp, you saw him in the preseason. He's a load. He's always finishing forward. He's big in a couple of short yard situations. He caught that screen pass on our left side and there was no doubt with that space, he was going to run through who ever was standing in his way at the 1(-yard line). So, again, just a great complement to Breece (Hall) and Breece's running style.
Robert, do you know anything about C.J. (Mosley)?
He's dealing with a toe. Hopefully we can get him back on Thursday.
Robert, how critical was it for Will (McDonald) to step up this way, kind of at the same time now, Jermaine (Johnson) looks like it's going to be serious. Can you speak to that element and what you saw out of him today?
For sure. With Will (McDonald), I have to look at this tape, but it felt that he was really bringing power to his game today. I thought a couple of his sacks or at least one of them he ran right through that right tackle and, so, if he continues to develop that, he will be a double-digit sack guy in this league. Overall, I thought the guys stood up. We've got a good group, and it was good to see Will McDonald step up.
Can you just talk a little bit about the resilience of them sort of emotionally after Jermaine (Johnson) goes out, C.J. (Mosley) goes out and be able to regroup there?
It is tough. I think players in general and I would imagine on their side, nobody wants to see their man go down like that. But the resilience of the guys to put it to the side for the last quarter and do what we needed to do. We'll pray for a miracle in regards to whatever we see, but we love the man and it was good for the guys to respond.
Robert, on the last scoring drive, I think Aaron (Rodgers) was five-for-five on that drive. Can you describe on a couple of third down conversion type plays, the poise, having a guy who's a 20-year vet in that situation, you never really been in that situation here, just to have that kind of experience in that situation.
Yeah, like I said, I feel like we can score every time we touch the ball. And we're working through things, obviously, but to have three scoring drives and also get a field goal out of it. His presence, his ability at the line of scrimmage, his confidence in the huddle, his confidence on the sideline. The guy's a first ballot Hall of Famer and he's had production in this league for a very, very long time. He's seen everything and to have a presence like that in the huddle for a lot of guys who haven't seen everything, it's pretty cool.
How calming of an influence is that for or settling because it wasn't looking good early on the first early on there and is he just kind of symbolizes —because he always talks about not overreacting and that kind of thing, to relax. This seemed to be a little bit of a symbol of that, his game for him and the offense. How does that trickle down to the other guys?
It does. The biggest thing in football is confidence. Really in sport in general, in life. It's confidence in what you're doing, and you've got to have some affirmations to be able to continue to build on that confidence. And we're a young team in an organization that's been through for the last 13 years. So, there's going to be some learning as we go and as you look at the game as it unfolds, there's the mindset of "we can score every drive" is eventually going to take over this football team. Once that fully does take over, I think it's going to be free flowing and it's going to be beautiful when it all comes together. But to have a guy like Aaron (Rodgers) that just gives that calm presence at the quarterback position, it is priceless.
It seems like there was a lot of plays where you guys got close to delay of games and getting right up to the edge with the clock. Is that something that everybody is working through?
For sure, but that's also him (Aaron Rodgers). He's going to take it all. He's going to burn the entire clock, as much as he can. This is not a new thing. This has been his whole career. He's always going to toe the line with the play clock.
How big were their contributions from Irvin Charles today?
He is a Pro Bowl special teamer, All Pro special teamer, and if people don't know who he is then they need to figure it out quick.
Obviously, your season doesn't get decided in Week Two, but how big is the difference in the mood and the outlook and the confidence to be 1-1 instead of 0-2?
It is. Anytime you're in this league, it is, especially coming off of that hard —the guys know, nobody really cares when you get to Sunday. They don't care about what time you got in on Tuesday, they don't care about what week you had, they just care about what you do on Sunday and how much you want the game. I thought our guys—the resilience of starting from Monday night, the travel, getting themselves right to play, getting on the plane, getting here last night and then fighting through a hard first half and then grinding through an even harder second half. Credit goes to all of them and their mindset. Anytime you can win on Sunday, it's always rewarding.
You talked about what a calming influence Aaron (Rodgers) is on the team. What kind of calming influence is he on the coaches, especially when it looks a little rough in the first part of the game?
The confidence is knowing we can score anytime we get the ball. So, that's a good feeling.
How crucial was it to capitalize on their mistakes?
Anytime you get a mistake from the other team, I wish we would've capitalized a little bit more.
