Q&A with Aaron Rodgers

Packer: Aaron Rodgers

Number: 12

Position: Quarterback

College: California

Draft: First round, 2005

Season: 15th

Age: 36

Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 225 pounds

Q: After the Washington game, you said you’d be happy to “win ugly” all the way to the Super Bowl. Do you still feel that way?

A: I don’t mind as long as we’re winning. People in your position, obviously you have a job to do, you’re writing stories, but there’s a lot of emphasis on looking pretty or dominating in a way that befits your explanation, but I thought it was a really good performance for us.

We had good balance, we ran the ball well, we just turned it over three times (against the Vikings), but it doesn’t matter how we get it done as long as we get it done. In games where our defense isn’t as locked down as they are now, we’ve got to find ways to put points on the board. There’s going to be a time when we need to make those plays, and I expect to.

Q: Winning division titles used to be old hat to you. After falling short the last couple of years, how does it feel to be back on top?

A: It’s really sweet to celebrate in the locker room with those guys. A lot of guys weren’t here in ’16 the last time we got to put these hats on. That was a sweet run, winning six in a row to finish it off in Detroit. But there’s really nothing like checking that first box on the goal list, winning your division. Obviously it secures a home playoff game and now we’re playing for even more coming up next week.

Q: You’re a win away from earning the No. 2 seed and you have a chance at being the No. 1 seed. You know what all of that means as far as bye weeks and home games. How important would it be to at least stay at No. 2?

A: Yeah, it’s exciting. Being a part of that 2010 team and having to win three games on the road, that’s a tough way to go. Especially with how deep this playoffs in the NFC is, it’s nice to have a chance to have some games at home.

I said this earlier in the season, just getting in gives you a legitimate shot but knowing that we could have two home games to get somewhere special changes the whole dynamic, especially with the type of temperatures that we expect in Green Bay and the way that we’ve over the years played at home.

Q: Did you think this was possible after the team hired Matt LaFleur?

A: I was hoping for something like this, for sure, and I believed, I would say, midway through training camp, that we did have something that could be special, but, like I just told Matt, nobody expected us to be in this position — to be 12-3, to win the North. Other than James Jones, probably, there’s not too many people that thought this was possible, just with so many moving pieces and new players and a new scheme.

That feels pretty good, for sure, to do what Matt (has done) and to see just the emotion. He came in and brought in his own style and his guys and people bought in, and, you know, Z (Za’Darius Smith) was a big one. I think, like I told him the first day that we talked, he really needed, I think, myself and Z to be deep in his corner to get this thing where it goes, and that’s not some pat on my back. That’s just what a head coach (needs). He just needed the leaders to believe in him and to spread that message to the squad.

Z and I are really close, as well, which helps. He’s done a great job with setting the vision and allowing the players to be themselves, and I think he deserves a lot of credit for that.

Q: What did you see during training camp?

A: I could tell our defense was different. They just had a different feel to it. When we get into mid-training camp and the tempo picks up with pads and you go four or five days with maybe a day off with the new schedule, but you’re practicing maybe five or six times out of seven days, you see the tempo and the size and the ability.

I felt pretty good about our chances on defense, and the offense was going to be a work in progress but I felt like with the defense that we had, it was going to give us a chance if we took care of the football.

FYI

Rodgers’ answers were taken from his press conference following Monday’s win over the Vikings.