Q. On Monday you talked about not being fully satisfied with the way you are playing on offense.
COACH KELLY: Monday? We played a game on Monday. Tuesday?
Q. Tuesday. COACH KELLY: I just want to get the facts straight. [Laughter]
Q. If defenses are going to keep playing you with extra guys in the box --
COACH KELLY: It wasn't that. We didn't execute. They didn't have an extra guy down there. We didn't stay on blocks as well as we can stay on blocks and we didn't run the way we need to run. So, it wasn't a schematic thing, it was just us [not] executing on the offensive side of the ball. We did some good things, don't get me wrong, but I think we can be better.
Q. When you say that you did not run the ball the way you should, were there missed holes --
COACH KELLY: A combination of both. Sometimes we had it blocked up right and we didn't hit it. There were other times where there was nowhere for the back to go.
Q. Is that consistent in other games where you have struggled in the run game?
COACH KELLY: That's usually the case. Either we don't block it right or we don't run it right.
Q. Do you find that you guys are not just generating turnovers, but also scoring off of them at a pretty good rate? Do you feel like that is random or is there a science behind that?
COACH KELLY: I mean, you know, we work our returns after interceptions and fumbles. Our defensive team does a period of that every week. So, we are emphasizing that and I think our people understand what we're trying to do.
It's just kind of what you're looking for. It's good that you get a turnover and the great part is turning it into points. I think our guys are greedy from that standpoint, that when we do get a turnover, can we turn it into something even more positive?
It may have hurt us one time. I think one time we probably should have fell on a fumble, but we tried to pick it up and run with it. There's a fine line there with what you want to get accomplished, but the number one thing is you want to create the turnover.
Q. What has Green Bay shown on film in terms of defensive coverages? Do they play man or zone?
COACH KELLY: They play both. Everybody in the league plays both, so it just depends on the down and distance and what they're doing. They've got guys who can cover: [CB Sam] Shields and [CB Tramon] Williams can really do a good job on the outside. They have a young safety in there in [S Ha Ha] Clinton‑Dix. They've got guys that can cover and have done a good job with it.But they're going to vary it; they're not going to give you one certain coverage.
It really depends on down and distance and the packages that they have in there. And they've changed; up until their bye week, they were really kind of one way defensively and they really kind of drastically changed going into the Chicago game. So, we have to have a plan for both.
Q. Did they play less nickel against Chicago than they had been?
COACH KELLY: No. They played more.
Q. What are some of the teaching points for RB LeSean McCoy in terms of what you would like to see him do moving forward?
COACH KELLY: It's individual plays, so it's not an overall thing. I think LeSean is doing a really good job, but there are a lot of times it's not blocked up well enough for him to hit anything. So, it's not all on one guy.
Q. Considering that you coached LB Casey Matthews at Oregon, you likely have known him longer than anyone else on the team. What do you like about him as a player and as a person?
COACH KELLY: I like his instincts. I think he's just got a real solid background in terms of being able to key and diagnose things right from the start. He doesn't hesitate. I think he really trusts his eyes, in terms of what they are in and he can diagnose blocking schemes quickly. He's a real good tackler in the box.
I think he's got a great demeanor about himself because he's never too high, he's never too low. I think he's really a calming influence out there, much like [LB] DeMeco [Ryans] was in terms of how they're not going to lose their mind in any situation out there. They're going to analyze what it is and put us in the right call.
He was the same way for us when we were at Oregon. He was the captain of our defense over there when we were at Oregon and he's fallen into that role now with DeMeco being out.
Q. You talk about instincts. In regards to LB Connor Barwin, when you spy a quarterback your instincts are so important in terms of when to go and when not to go. It seems like Barwin's experience really helps him spy and he is similar to Packers LB Clay Matthews in those situations. Do you agree with that?
COACH KELLY: Yeah, I don't see Clay spying too many people. They're usually pinning his ears back and having him go after the quarterback. [Barwin] did a really good job in terms of what we were trying to get accomplished. Obviously, you know how dynamic [Panthers QB] Cam [Newton] is when he gets out in the open field. I think Connor has a great feel for just the game. I think he's a very, very intelligent player, but he's also got some overlap.
He was a great basketball player. I think he's got an understanding -- got a real good sports mind -- he understands how things develop and how things are going to -- [he tries] to stay a step ahead in terms of where it's going to go.
He did a really good job filling in the gaps when the rush flushed Cam one way or another and Connor was there to pick him up.
Q. You talked about some of the attributes that Casey Matthews has. Are he and LB Emmanuel Acho similar?
COACH KELLY: Very similar. I think when you guys talk to Acho, and I know you guys have, [you see] another really, really intelligent player. That's why we feel like we have two [players at that position] and that's why I think it was 31-30 in snaps last week. [We're] always trying to keep a fresh guy on the field. They're still both playing [special] teams; they're integral in some of the things we're trying to do from a special teams standpoint.
We felt that they were really even from that standpoint. They're both smart, they're both intelligent, they both do a good job at reading their keys, they both trust their eyes in terms of what they're doing, so I think we kind of have two guys there and that's why we are platooning those guys right now.
Q. When you drafted WR Jordan Matthews you said you were going to start him off in the slot because you thought that's where it would be best to start him off. Is that something you saw while working him out, watching him on film and in the pre‑draft process? Or if you had drafted any other wide receiver, would you have worked that player primarily in the slot?
COACH KELLY: No, you know, we had certain guys that we had targeted. There are certain guys that I think have the ability to play inside, there are certain guys that are made to be outside receivers, and then [there are] some guys that can do both. In Jordan's situation, I just felt that was the direction we wanted to go, and we were hoping he was going to be there when we had an opportunity to pick because we wanted to get bigger in the slot. We wanted to get bigger at the receiver position in general.
You know, he's the guy that we had targeted right from the jump. If we didn't get him, it wasn't like any receiver we grabbed, we were going to put him in there.
Q. It appeared that McCoy was frustrated during the game on Monday night. As a head coach, how much do you talk to him and try to keep him -- COACH KELLY: I haven't talked to him at all about the game --
Q. Does anybody talk to him?
COACH KELLY: Yeah [of course]. Well, no, our positions coaches haven't said a word to him, our coordinators. [Laughter]
I mean, we talk to all our players. Everybody meets with their individual players. We have a team meeting when we come in after the game. We talk about the positives and the negatives. I may show them some tape sometimes. Then they go into it offensively and defensively and then the coordinators address them in terms of what we did well and what we need to improve. Then they go watch the entire game with the position coach. So, I know [offensive coordinator] Pat [Shurmur] takes care of that aspect of it, [running backs coach] Duce [Staley] takes care of that aspect of it.
Q. There are a lot of former high school and college quarterbacks on this roster and a lot of them arrived after you took the job. Is that coincidental or is that happening a lot around the NFL because a lot of those players are simply the top athletes?
COACH KELLY: No, I think it's coincidental. A lot of really good players -- most people try to put their best athlete at quarterback when you're in high school. So, there are a lot of guys like that. John Lynch was a quarterback and is going to be a Hall of Fame safety. I think there are a lot of guys that fell into that role. That is just kind of what happens. If you are a high school coach, [you ask], 'Who is your best athlete?' and you are probably going to put him at quarterback.
Q. What kind of advantages do guys have who have played other positions? Especially with guys in the secondary.
COACH KELLY: I think it helps when you see things from a different perspective. You've seen it through what the quarterback's eyes are like, so now you understand when you're on the other side what you were looking at. I think there's some carryover with that, just like I think there's carryover with Connor, in the question we had earlier, him being a basketball player and understanding spacing and understanding where things happen.
The more you get exposed to those different things, you're a byproduct of your experience. I think that's just a positive for those guys that they have played those positions.
Q. Your special teams return game has received a lot of attention, but what has stood out to you about the jobs P Donnie Jones and K Cody Parkey have done this season?
COACH KELLY: I think, obviously, we know with Cody, he's turning into it, where it's automatic when we get into range for him, somewhere around the 35‑yard line, he's only missed one kick all year long. He's very consistent and has been very consistent from a training standpoint when we're out here. He drilled the one last week at the end of practice on Thursday, a 48‑yarder in about a 25‑mile‑an‑hour wind.
We have a lot of confidence in him in terms of when we have to kick a field goal, we feel like it's an automatic three points.
I think with Donnie, the big thing for us is he's done such a good job, especially in the plus‑50 punting the ball down inside the 20‑yard line, it's been huge for us.
Those two guys have been really big weapons for us.
Q. McCoy prides himself on being one of the most productive backs in the league. How do you find that he is managing the pockets where maybe the numbers aren't coming? What's the key to get through that?
COACH KELLY: I think he's like everybody else. The bottom line is, 'Are we winning football games?' When we are winning football games, you have to understand that there are certain things that maybe are not going to go your way every day.
There are going to be days where we have to run it a lot, there are going to be days where we have to throw it a lot. But I think we have a team of really unselfish players that just [believe] the ultimate goal at the end of the day is they don't ask [about] you when they see you, they ask you what your record is. Your record is 7‑2. That's the thing that I think all of us are most proud of right now.
Whether we have individual accolades at different positions, sometimes that just happens. You can be on a team that you lead in rushing, but you finish 1‑15, I don't think anybody is happy about that.
Q. Going back to Jordan Matthews, as a rookie does it help him to play the slot where he sees a lot of linebackers, safeties or nickel corners? Does that give him a feel for the game where he can eventually move outside and be more natural or is that a different animal?
COACH KELLY: I think the positions are slightly different. It's not a totally different animal, but you're going to see different looks inside than you see outside.
But I think he's a smart enough guy that he can handle anything we give him.
Q. Did moving Clay Matthews to inside linebacker against Chicago make that big of a difference for the Packers run defense or is there not a large enough sample size to make an assessment due to the fact that the game was a blowout early and the Bears had to get away from the run game? COACH KELLY: That's a good point. I don't really have that answer. I think they were down, Chicago got down so quickly, maybe their mindset turned into, 'We have to throw the ball a little bit more to try to get back into this game.'
But [Green Bay] did play better with him inside in their rush defense. I think it's probably a short ‑‑ you only have a small sample of it, but you could see improvement on the tape, though.
Q. Statistics aside, how do you think McCoy has played this season? COACH KELLY: I think LeSean has played well. [He's] done a really good job. He's a workhorse for us. He's played every game. He actually has more carries this year through nine games than he had last year through nine games. He's out here every day. He practices every day. I think when we can get him going in the games we have got him going, he's been outstanding. So, I have been very pleased with LeSean this year.
Q. When you have a backup quarterback entering a game, is there ever a worry about maybe that guy trying to do too much? Do you believe QB Mark Sanchez does not have that tendency to try to do too much?
COACH KELLY: It depends on who the quarterback is. I think everything's individual. I don't think you just look at it and say, 'All backup quarterbacks do this or all backup quarterbacks don't do this.' I think it's really [about] who you're dealing with.
I think Mark has had a good grasp of what we've been doing from day one. I don't think he tried to do too much in the preseason and I think he's got a really good feel because of the experience he had. He started 68 games in his career before he got here, so I think that's a real byproduct of it.
I know that happens sometimes with some guys. That happens a lot sometimes with our rookies just in preseason games when they know they have an opportunity to go in a game [it's like], 'Hey, I've got to go make something happen here.' Usually that's kind of a formula for failure, to be honest with you.
You can't make anything happen. The defenses are too good in this league. You've got to take what they give you and you've got to be smart in terms of where you're going to go with the football.
Q. Yesterday, WR Josh Huff said he has been taking some snaps at running back since RB Darren Sproles got injured. You have a strong stable of running backs, but is that a role that you can see for Huff? COACH KELLY: No, it's just an emergency situation. We did it before Sproles got injured. Just like [WR] Brad Smith takes reps at quarterback and [TE] James Casey takes reps at quarterback. It just adds depth to the position. If you get caught in a game where a guy gets hurt and you only have three guys up, you have to go to someone on the active roster that has to go play that position.
It's a combination of if we played a game last Monday night, if we lost Sproles and McCoy and [RB Chris] Polk, then who do you go to next? It's just kind of having a contingency plan in terms of what you're doing.
Josh has taken snaps in college. [TE] Trey Burton has taken snaps in college. It's looking at guys that have that ability. Just like Brad Smith was a college quarterback, James Casey was a quarterback when he was a freshman in college. So you kind of have to have that just in case. You have no idea how many guys are going to go down in a game. All he does is one period where we do center-quarterback exchange. He actually did that before. He did it at Oregon, so that if we ever lost a couple of running backs and we didn't have everybody dressed on that day, we would throw him in there.
Q. Why did you go back to Polk on kickoff returns?
COACH KELLY: [Special teams coordinator Dave] Fipp wanted him back there.
Q. What enables DT Bennie Logan to play his position well? Normally guys who play that position weight 320-330 pounds?
COACH KELLY: It's not normally a guy at 320-330. Not the way we run defense, so...
Q. Is it something about your defense in particular?
COACH KELLY: No, I think [it's about] your ability and, 'Are you a good two-gapper, can you handle a center?' That's what we look for all the time. I just think it's a misconception that you have to have a big, large body in there. I think you have to have someone with real long arms, which Bennie has. He's extremely quick off the snap and does a great job of neutralizing the center.
