McCarthy: Tretter's start was a medical decision

Packers coach Mike McCarthy spoke to the media on Monday evening. Here are some highlights:

On Andrew Quarless:

Veteran player who’s played a lot of football for us. He’s been working hard and going through his rehab. This is a good addition for us.

On Ty Montgomery’s ankle:

Ty Montgomery going to IR, his injury is like everybody’s, it’s different. We went through the process and just didn’t get to where we needed to go to. Specifics of his injury, those are questions Ty should answer. It’s unfortunate with the way the young man started the season.

On JC Tretter:

JC has played good football for us. Corey, in the long-term interest, it was the best for our offense. We’ll see where Corey is Wednesday. (Decision) to play him over Linsley was a medical situation. No controversy.

On David Bakhtiari:

Had an ankle. Looked better today than he did on the plane last night. Went through testing, treatments and meetings today. Started preparation for Arizona Cardinals today.

On how the week will be:

Very important game. Amount of work that needs to be done. We’ll get that done. That’s why we started today. Everybody will be with their families on Christmas. That’s the way it should be.

On Cardinals:

It’s about winning. It’s about winning in December. There’s a reason why these games show up in December. We’re in the playoffs now. Division is going to come down to the last week, but this is an outstanding football team that’s been playing good football all year. This is about beating a good football team. Nothing better than winning.

On Sam Shields:

He’s still in the protocol. Looked good today in brief time I saw him. Big week, excellent perimeter group. Big challenge for our defense.

On Julius Peppers:

He’s been more comfortable in the defense. We’ve done a better job with the coordination of the reps with our front people. He’s playing good football. He has a unique style of leadership. He brings a lot to our program and our football team. He’s having a great year.

On offense:

I think when last year the season concluded and it was time to set the direction of the 2015 season, I was looking for a more balanced football team. I think it’s worked out. Clearly, based off the job responsibility and how things were laid out, the goal was to be a balanced team. We’re definitely headed in that direction.