Vikings 34, Packers 31
A. Okay, really good game. They played well. Offensively we played outstanding today. I thought defensively we played really well in the first half, and then we really couldn't get them stopped in the second half.
Offensively we played really good in the second half.
Seems like I guess every one of these games are going to come down to the last play of the game, like they have all year. We're just very fortunate to get a win. They've got a good football team, well-coached, and we're fortunate to come out on top today.
Q. A couple weeks ago you mentioned you wanted the offense to be more explosive. That clearly happened in this game. Was there a concerted effort this week to try and make it more explosive?
A. No, not necessarily this week. They hadn't given up very many big plays but we felt like we had a chance to get behind them some, and when we did, I thought the offensive coaches did a really good job today. I thought Klint called a good game. The two receivers obviously were outstanding and Conklin made a couple really nice plays, as well.
Cook had some tough running at times but he ran hard and gained some extra yards after contact.
But basically I talk to Kirk every week and I told him, look, you try to score touchdowns, you let me back the game down when it's time to do it. So that's kind of our approach.
Q. You're back to .500. Do you feel like the best is yet to come for this team, you're getting to where you want to be?
A. Well, I think offensively we're starting to play like we did at the beginning of the season. Defensively we've played well for the most part. The second half we didn't cover very good today. Obviously he hit some big throws on us.
But you know, we have the ability if we'll continue to put things together, continue to work, we just have to keep going. We can't be satisfied to be 5-5.
Q. What was your vantage point on the interception that was overruled, and did you think right away he probably dropped it?
A. Yeah, I was going to challenge it, but they told me it was a turnover, so I didn't have to.
Q. Defensively you said the coverage in the second half was a little off. Was that the difference from the first half?
A. Yeah, and we changed up some coverages in the second half. The long ball that we -- the long one-play drive we were doubling Adams and we just got beat. The other touchdown we were in zero blitz and the receiver kind of tricked him off the line. He kind of eased out and then took off again, and we got tricked.
You know, we'll continue to try to figure out better ways to cover.
Q. Two of Rodgers' touchdowns came when he scrambled for more than six seconds. Is that just a byproduct of the type of guy you face, knowing what he does and getting out of the pocket, or was there something with the pass rush on those?
A. Well, we didn't rush the passer as good in the second half I didn't think, and that's why we were trying to hit some more pressures on him because we didn't want him to hold the ball. The one he got out we messed up a game, the one touchdown right before the half we messed up a game. He got and then the guy's uncovered. We had him covered initially, and then I don't remember the other one, but yeah, typically.
Q. Were you pretty adamant at the end when you got in the red zone that you didn't want to score necessarily, you just wanted to make sure Rodgers didn't get it back?
A. Well, we hadn't stopped him the whole second half and I didn't want him to have the ball. I figured the best place to win the game was him on the bench.
Q. What have you learned about Jefferson's competitiveness in the first two years he's been here, rising up and playing the way he did against a rival?
A. I think Justin -- I heard him say the other day that he lives for games like this. That's kind of what he is. I saw him this week during the week and talked to him a little bit and then after the game he tells me, "I told you I got you, Coach." That's the kind of guy you want to have. That's the kind of guy you love to have. Great competitor, runs great routes. Adams is the same kind of guy. I think those two feed off each other.
Q. Was it about it specifically when everyone in the building knows the ball is coming to him, it's a one-on-one match-up and he can still make that big play. What have you seen from him improvement-wise, if there is any room for improvement?
A. Well, he catches the ball so well. He goes up -- was it last week he went up and got the ball a couple times on nine balls. He's got great hand coordination, he can jump, he's extremely fast and he's extremely competitive. He runs -- when he runs these routes, most of the time he sets up the DBs pretty well.
Q. Defensively having Patrick back, did that allow you to kind of mix things up a little bit more in the back field?
A. Yeah. I'm trying to think, he got beat, we were in zone blitz one time and Rodgers made a great throw on an out and another time he was pressing Davante and made a good catch and a great throw. I think -- I have to look at the film because it's so hard for me to see everything out there, but he thought he did a good job.
Q. Just in general, as a play caller and a game designer, does that allow you to mix things up when you've got a guy like him?
A. Yeah, it does. I mean, you don't have to worry as much about him, but like today he was on Davante a lot, so you're still trying to take care of Davante. There's a mixture there.
Q. Any word on K.J. Osborn's health? It looked like he --
A. I don't think anything is wrong with him. No one said anything to me.
Q. Why the decision to start Mason Cole at center, and is that a long-term thing?
A. I don't know. He's played well the last two weeks, so their nose tackle was a really good player, as you probably saw today a bunch of times. We'll see this week how it goes.
Q. After the interception was overturned, how did you like the way you guys marched down the field?
A. Yeah, it was big. We had a really good run. We had a couple good throws in there. Adam made a couple nice catches. It just shows -- I know we've lost some of these close games, but we've got a lot of heart and we've got a lot of fight. Hopefully we'll keep winning these types of games as opposed to when we were losing them earlier.
Q. Losing these types of games kind of has given the guys the experience now to correct those mistakes; they said they didn't panic today and in those past losses they had been. Did you see that?
A. Yeah, they're very experienced at the last play of the games. (Laughter).
Q. Is there anything you want to emphasize with them about protecting double-digit leads?
A. It all matters. Everything matters. But wins matter, too. They made some good plays. I mean, it's football. They've got guys getting paid, too, and that guy over there No. 12 is getting paid a bunch of money.
Q. The three-safety package, do you feel like that worked out or is there more to work on?
A. I don't know, I mean, it's hard for me to say without watching the tape tonight or tomorrow. It's just sometimes to have a bigger body down in there as opposed to a nickel when they're doing all these rockets and things like that, where the nickel gets into the run fits. We're trying to get Harrison Smith, that's all.
Q. One of Jefferson's touchdowns he came out of the backfield. Is that just creativity/versatility that he provides to be able to do it that way?
A. Everybody knows he's not in there for protection. (Laughter.)
Q. Obviously a very entertaining game; what's it like on the sideline when you see this game go back and forth like that? Do you have to keep your emotions in check yourself?
A. Sundays are not fun. You know they say Sunday is fun day? It is not at all. It's -- like I said the other day, every play with this guy is a fight. You're trying to -- you just hope when they go down and score on one play that the offense can come back and do what they did. I was proud of them for that.
Q. Do you know what happened on the play and the touchdown where he was calling --
A. Yeah, he called timeout but the ball was already snapped, so it wasn't granted. We zero blitzed him, and like I said, the receiver faked like he was going to stop, and took off again, and he made a great throw.
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