Cobb: Packers still 'very confident'
Gannett Wisconsin Media’s Brett Christopherson caught up with Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb, who shared his thoughts on Sunday’s 20-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings:
A lot has been made this season about the offense’s continued search to find an identity. Mike McCarthy has tried different things to trigger some sort of consistent spark, but to no avail. Is it too late to find that identity now that the playoffs are here?
RC: No, there’s still time. It comes down to us just making plays. I feel like a broken record — I continue to say it. We have opportunities that we continue to miss out on. And now we’re at the point where it’s win or go home. Our backs are up against the wall. Everybody is at 0-0, and nothing really matters but finding a way to win now. As long as we can do that, that’s all that really matters.
The trend for the offense seems to be finishing fast. For example, 223 of the 350 total yards you produced against the Vikings came during your final four offensive possessions. How do you explain that trend? Is it simply the situation of the game dictating that production, or are there things you can use from how you played toward the end of that Minnesota game as you prepare for the playoffs and Washington?
RC: Honestly, I don’t know. We’ve had that multiple times this year where we’ve been lagging in certain situations, and then when we get to the end of the game, everything just clicks and everything just rolls. We talk about carrying that momentum over into the next game and then the same thing happens. It really has been very, very frustrating. But the only thing that I can think of right now is to just forget about the past. We’re 0-0 — everybody’s 0-0 — and we’re in the playoffs. We’ve put ourselves in a position where we have an opportunity, and that’s all you can ask for. Now, it’s on us to make something happen out of that opportunity.
3 storylines: Green Bay at Washington
Aaron Rodgers said after Sunday’s game the Packers are “in a situation where we have to prove to ourselves again that we can win big games.” Do you agree? Is proving you can win those games different than believing you can do it?
RC: I don’t think anybody has lost belief. I think we’re all still very confident in ourselves and the guys in the locker room. We know we have the ability. We know what we’re capable of. But it’s proving it. I think it’s going out there and proving it on a four-quarter basis. We’ve had quarters where we play well all throughout different games, and then we’ve had not-so-good quarters. It’s just proving it for 60 minutes and making it happen.
You limp into the playoffs having dropped your final two regular season games and six of your last 10 contests. Momentum can mean different things to different people. How do you define it? And what will it take for the Packers to find it in the playoffs?
RC: (Momentum) is capitalizing off of opportunities in different situations and using that as motivation moving forward. Now, we haven’t found a way to win those big games, but we have had those momentum swings to put us in position. You look at this past week with Mason’s (Crosby) strip fumble and Micah’s (Hyde) interception. Those are momentum swings that we have to capitalize on as an offense and find a way to get that job done. I think momentum into the playoffs at this point is starting fast in Washington. Being able to be in sync. Getting everybody involved early and getting us all going. And just making plays, breaking tackles and picking up first downs. Not penalizing ourselves and putting us in third-and-long situations.
Brett Christopherson: 920-993-7117, or brett.christopherson@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @PCBrettC
