Bakhtiari: Packers never 'lost faith' in Lacy
Green Bay Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari co-hosted Monday's Festival Foods Pack the Pantry Clubhouse Live show. Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb was Bakhtiari's guest.
Among the topics they touched on were beating the Vikings, Eddie Lacy's big game and the play of James Jones.
The show was held inside the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel's Grand Ballroom in downtown Appleton and benefited Gannett Wisconsin Media's Stock the Shelves campaign. It normally can be seen Mondays at 6:30 p.m. from the Clubhouse Sports Pub & Grill in Appleton, or live online at clubhouselive.com.
REPLAY: Festival Foods Pack the Pantry with Bakhtiari, Cobb
Here are select and edited answers from the interview:
Q: How good did Sunday's victory feel? You guys haven't celebrated a win since beating San Diego on Oct. 18.
Bakhtiari: Yeah, winning cures everything at the end of the day. A little rough month, but it feels good to win. Happy about that.
Q: Eddie Lacy rushed for 100 yards on 22 carries and was key in re-establishing your ground game. You're one of his best friends on the team. How much was his lack of production, the injuries and the criticism for his sluggish season weighing on him? Did you and your teammates ever have to help him keep focused and his spirits high?
Bakhtiari: Eddie's a hell of a player. I don't think anyone ever lost faith. It's tough trying to go out there and compete against the best in the world when you can't be at your best at times. So for him to go out there and finally play Eddie Lacy football was amazing to see. You see the guy barreling down — he's a tough guy to tackle. He's a big man, and once he gets going with some momentum, especially his infamous spin move, that's a tough guy to tackle — especially meeting him in the hole.
Q: James Jones had a major impact on the outcome of Sunday's game, as well. He had two big-time catches: the over-the-shoulder grab along the sideline and the end zone catch with his feet tight against the boundary. As a receiver, how much do you appreciate just how difficult those catches were?
Cobb: Huge catches for us as a team and for J.J. I think that was something that we've been missing — making those plays and having those opportunities. And we haven't been able to make the plays, to make some of those. We left a lot out on the field, still. But to be able to make some of those plays was huge for our offense.
Brett Christopherson: 920-993-7117, or brett.christopherson@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @PCBrettC