GREEN BAY, Wis. -- When Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers first got to his locker on Thursday for his weekly interview with the media, the NFL MVP faced multiple questions about his leadership and the negative comments made by Blake Baratz, the agent for Jermichael Finley. Rodgers' response to all of that can be found in detail in this story.
But once all of that was settled, Rodgers had plenty else to discuss as Green Bay (1-1) gets ready for its upcoming Monday Night Football matchup against the Seattle Seahawks (1-1).
Rodgers talked about apologizing to wide receiver James Jones, not getting much practice time with injured receiver Greg Jennings, playing on the road in Seattle, and much more.
Five question-and-answer highlights:
1A.) Are you surprised how the quarterback competition shook out in Seattle, with former Badgers quarterback Russell Wilson beating out former Packers QB Matt Flynn?
RODGERS: Yes.
1B.) In what ways?
RODGERS: I was surprised by how it went.
1C.) Have you talked to Flynn?
RODGERS: Yeah, Matt and I are good buddies. We talk weekly. That doesn't change. He's the backup.
2. Did you regret yelling at Jones on the field following the interception against the Bears?
RODGERS: That's part of the competitive part of the game. I mean, it, for whatever reason, has gotten more attention this week, I think, to compare that with what happened with the Bears. They're trying to look for any of those things. There's a lot of that stuff that doesn't get caught on TV or on film that happens in games. Offensive players, defensive players, special teams players. It's something that has come out of me at various times. I try to curtail it.
But I do feel bad. I don't want to show up a guy like that. That's why I apologized to him. James handled it with a lot of class. Like I said, that's not going to come between us. Whatever was said about my leadership skills is not going to come between me and Jermichael (Finley). Those are, honestly, very small, small things that for whatever reason, because we have some time, have gotten a little bit of play.
3. Due to the series of injuries to Jennings already this season, are you concerned about not having much time to practice together?
RODGERS: Not really concerned, but I think it's something we have to think about. We have a lot of game reps together. I'm not sure where's he at with his legs and his conditioning and his running. If he's out there, it's going to help our offense, but we definitely haven't had a lot of reps in training camp and the season thus far. It's going to be important to be on the same page and that's got to come through getting him out there and giving him some chances to catch the ball.
4. How has Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch grown since your one year together in 2004 at the University of California?
RODGERS: He was a wild child back then. I'm not sure how much of that he's still doing. He's an incredible player. From the first big-time run he had against Air Force his freshman year, you knew he was special. Just his ability to never go down. We'd often tell him in practice, 'Just go down. You're going to absorb these crazy shots.' You've seen so many runs in his career where he's just refused to go down. Whether it's that run he had last year on a Monday night for a touchdown or the run in the playoffs, which has got to be one of the top 10 or 15 plays that we've seen in the NFL in the last 25 years. He's just a big-time back who brings a lot of energy and athleticism to that team.
5. How does Seattle rank in terms of being a hostile environment to play in?
RODGERS: Loud, loudness, noise. It's probably right near the top. I'd probably say this and Kansas City and probably the two loudest outdoor stadiums we've played in. Hostile? I'd say they're behind places like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. It's Seattle. It's a nice town. It's Starbucks, the grunge music scene. It's clean, rainy, so they're not quite as hostile as some of those other areas. But they're definitely loud.
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