McCarthy praises Linsley's start

Packers coach Mike McCarthy spoke to the media on Friday. Here are some highlights from his news conference:

Packers Injury report – Out: WR Boykin (groin), Quest: ILB Barrington (hamstring), DL Jones (ankle). Probable: DL Boyd (knee), T Bakhtiari (back)

On Datone Jones:

Talked to him this morning. Feeling better. We'll see what he can do tomorrow. Unable to go yesterday. … If we were practicing today, I'd hope he'd be out there in some form or fashion

On balancing how a player feels against medical situation:

You have to know players and rely on your medical staff. Sometimes when you talk to them, it's useless. I've never been told 'I can't play.

On Corey Linsley:

I think from a confidence standpoint with Corey, no one ever wavered because what you were able to see him do in training camp. He's one of those guys, as a rookie, that came in here and you knew right away he belonged. First day of pads, this guy – he's a powerful young man and fit right in. That's why I was never worried about him because mentally he's very sharp, very detailed, played in a big time program. He has a lot of things going for him. I will say this, if things keep going the way they're going, I think we'll look back on this start as one of the more impressive situations a young player has stepped up and performed in my time here, and we've had a lot guys step up.

On what 94 Alpha means:

It's something for our locker room. 94th team in the history of the Packers

On Nick Perry:

Nick Perry is a good football player. He's a productive player and has been. Hopefully, this is the year he jumps over that hurdle

On Kevin Dorsey:

Kevin, I have a lot of confidence in him. If he needs to play, we'll put him right in there and cut him loose

On Eddie Lacy:

I'm hoping to feature Eddie, get him his touches, he's one of our best players. James is a 3-down player. We have confidence in both

On the offense:

We averaged 70 plays last year. If we were more efficient, we thought we could do 75 plays. We've been on different path. … We need to be more efficient. We need more seven-plus play drives.