Rodgers: Players are letting staff down
GREEN BAY — Aaron Rodgers has heard all the criticism of the Green Bay Packers’ brain trust amid the team’s less-than-stellar 4-4 start. Fans have been calling for the firings of coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson in the wake of the Packers’ surprising loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday — if they weren’t already after Green Bay lost twice to the Brett Favre-led Minnesota Vikings.
Rodgers isn’t buying it.
“Honestly, I think it’s a convenient criticism there,” he said. “But this team believes in our leaders and believes in Ted and Mike and (defensive coordinator Dom Capers) and (offensive coordinator) Joe Philbin and (special teams coordinator) Shawn Slocum. I think if you ask those special teams guys, I think it’d be they’re disappointed in the way they’ve played. If you ask the offense, we’re not pointing fingers at Mike or Joe.
We’re disappointed in the way we’ve executed. If you ask the defense, I think it’s the same thing. They’re not pointing fingers at Dom. They need to play better.
“So I think it’s a convenient criticism … to blame a coach, in my opinion. I think we as players need to play better.”
They’ll need to do it soon if the Packers plan on having any real shot of making the playoffs. They enter Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field just one game back of Atlanta and Philadelphia, the two teams that would receive the NFC’s wild card berths if the season ended right now.
But Green Bay is three games back of first-place Minnesota in the NFC North and the second half of its schedule appears more difficult than the first half. So, make no mistake, a win over the 6-2 Cowboys would be a pivotal one.
“Believe me, we know the importance of it,” defensive end Cullen Jenkins said. “We’re not at all trying to downplay the situation. We’re 4-4 right now. It’s not where we expected we would be or where we wanted to be, but it’s where we’re at. It’s still very possible to turn this thing around.”
Rodgers was asked whether the Dallas game was a “must win.”
“I consider World War II a must win,” he said. “I don’t use the word ‘must win,’ but it’s an important game for us. We’re 4-4, we know what’s in front of us, and we need a win.”
To do that, they’ll need Rodgers to play better than he did against Tampa Bay.
He completed just 17 of 35 passes — the 48.6 completion percentage was the worst of his career as a starter — and threw three interceptions, tying his career high. His 57.6 quarterback rating was his second-worst since taking over as Green Bay’s starter — he had a 55.9 mark last year against the Buccaneers.
He has taken heat for not coping better with the near-constant pressure he’s been under this season, and Sunday’s loss dropped his record as a starter to 10-14.
“We’re 4-4. I didn’t play well last week,” Rodgers said. “So any criticism thrown my way is probably due. So you just deal with it. It comes with the territory.”
That criticism might dry up if the Packers can string together a few wins.
After the Dallas game, Green Bay hosts San Francisco before playing in Detroit on Thanksgiving. It’s a stretch of three games in 12 days that could very well shape the direction of their season.
The Cowboys began the season 2-2 before reeling off four straight wins. A similar streak might lift the doldrums surrounding the Packers.
“We really want to win the game this week.
There’s no question about that,” McCarthy said. “We approach every game the same way. November football is definitely, the importance and urgency has to increase. I think that’s natural, something we talk about as a football team.
“Our message is very clear: The head coach has to coach better, the coaches have to coach better, the players have to play better, and we have to win games. That’s our focus. We’re going to apply all of our energy into this Dallas game plan. ... We’re going to pour everything that we have into winning at home against the Cowboys. That’s our focus.”
