McCarthy: Shields still in concussion protocol
Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy spoke with media for about 10 minutes Wednesday morning. Here's what he had to say about his team's upcoming NFC Wild Card playoff game in Washington.
On whether Sam Shields is still in protocol: Sam Shields, he’s still going through concussion protocol.
On difficulty of being patient while Shields is still in concussion protocol: Frankly, that’s why the protocol is in place. Every injury is different. Every concussion is different. We’re obviously not going to jeopardize Sam.
On whether David Bakthiari will practice Wednesday: We’ll practice the same way as the past two Wednesdays, just because of the timing coming off the Sunday night game. Hopefully he can get some reps.
On where the confidence of this team is: High. We’re going to Washington to win. We’re going to the playoffs. We’re aware of what people think of us, but we’re excited to compete. We like our opportunity.
On what how he thinks people view the Packers: I don’t really care what people think of us. I have to address those things because it’s part of my job. I’ll just stop there.
On lost confidence with failing to win NFC North for first time in five years: I wouldn’t say you lose confidence. Very disappointed. I was very disappointed Sunday night when I left here. We didn’t deserve to win the division with the way we didn’t take care of the ball. That’s what the playoffs are all about. You play 16 games, and you gain information to lean on.
On experience edge: Well, I can’t really comment on Washington and their personnel. It’s change da lot. They get a lot of veterans. When you look at their roster, there’s experience there. I don’t think they’re lacking from that. I’m not really concerned what their experience is, but I do talk about our experience, especially with our young guys.
On Washington’s passing game: They’ve got guys who can blow it off the top. That’s noticeable. Kirk Cousins is playing well. That’s obvious. It’s all part of the matchups. They definitely have a lot of speed. It’s a good perimeter group.
On Kirk Cousins’ improvement: I would just say my general comment to that is he’s been given a full opportunity. I think you’ve seen a young quarterback progress throughout the season. He controls the line of scrimmage good, good command of the offense. He has good weapons. They run the ball effectively. It’s a balanced offense.
On Davante Adams possibly building off last game: It’s about stacking success. He definitely has something from last week he can build off of. That’s been a trademark of ours, breaking tackles and yards after the catch. We need more of it.
On how much time McCarthy spends showing team their own potential: I think it’s the generation that we’re in. we’re all products of our experiences. I look at the way we coach and the way meetings are done today, coming from the walkthrough and the music is played. We have more damn highlight films around here – it’s all positive reinforcement.
On Josh Sitton saying he’s a guard, not left tackle: I agree. Josh is a guard. We tried something, and I thought it was effective for the most part. That’s not the way you intend the game to go. When it does go that way, obviously, the left tackle position is stressed.
On Aaron Rodgers’ streak of having less than 100 passer rating: Passer rating, I would think the first thing that jumps out of late is turnovers. That’s not going to help your statistics as an individual or a team. Our passing game has not been to our standard, but you are what your record is, you are what you put on film. As far as getting into his quarterback rating, that’s not something we get into with any player.