“The fact is, (the Giants) didn’t beat us; we beat ourselves,” Matthews claimed to Yahoo! Sports. “We picked the most inopportune time to play our worst ball”

This is the second time the Packers have chimed in to say they gave the NFC Divisional playoff game away, rather then recognizing the Giants flat out, played better on the bigger stage.

Head coach Mike McCarthy said earlier this off-season “It’ll always bother me, I feel like we beat ourselves in this playoff game. Or better yet, we didn’t give ourselves a chance to win the game.”

Did Green Bay forget when they met in the regular season? That they needed an unbelievable drive to win with a field goal? If you didn’t watch football you would think the Packers beat the Giants by 50 the way they’re talking.

Giants Captain and Defensive end Justin Tuck has taken notice too. Tuck fired back at Matthews (a rarity for Tuck and the Giants this off-season).

“Thank you for giving us the game, Clay. I appreciate it a lot”

Tuck, who has been pretty mum on all the back and forth off-season delivered a little more context.

“When they fumbled the ball, I think it was us that stripped it out. We sacked them. It was us who beat their O-linemen and got to (Aaron) Rodgers”

Clay Matthews has some maturing to do if he ever wants to get back to the Super Bowl. I understand being upset when a 9-7 team comes into your stadium, under the lights, and beats your 15-1 football team on the way to another Super Bowl. But come on Clay, show a little class and take it like a man.

Chalk it up to another loser, picking at the Champs.

1.  Is anyone in Green Bay concerned that the defense is ranked last in the NFL, or is it simply a matter of them being able to take chances since Rodgers and the offense is so good?

A. There is plenty of concern … since the beginning of the season there has been concern, but this defense has continually come up with the big play. They get gashed between the 30s game-in, game-out, but in every game they have come up with the timely fourth down stop, the interception, the fumble recovery and even from time to time … a sack.

Yes, all fans are concerned, but they also have faith … faith in the coaching staff to dial up the right coverages in the right situations, faith in the players who know when to turn it on, and faith in the offense that they will score at least four times per game to give them the advantage.

It’s a strange situation this year. The defense was what really helped carry them last year to get to the position to make the playoffs and then the offense seemed to turn it on throughout the playoffs. This year, it’s been the opposite with the offense exploding all over everyone and the defense seeming to play half speed. Is it a situation that can lead this team to an unbeaten season and a Super Bowl win? I don’t know. But to-date, there hasn’t been a team that’s found the recipe for beating this imperfect, perfect team.

2. What would the fans want if the team was 14-0, had home field advantage, and the first seed wrapped up?  Sit or play?

A. Definitely play. And I feel that Mike McCarthy isn’t the type to buy into sitting entire starting teams. He’s always said he likes players that are game ready. I can see him sitting specific individual players maybe to help them recharge or overcome nagging injuries, but I don’t see him starting an entire offense or entire defense. Now, if the Packers go out in those final three weeks and build a big first half lead, then I can see McCarthy pulling starters from the field.

But the bottom line is winning … McCarthy wants to be perfect and he’ll do anything to achieve that goal. (more…)

1. Being that you are with the team daily, have you noticed anything  
different this year from last year as a result of the Super Bowl  
victory?  Has there been less or more access, different scheduling,  
anything that you found different?

Not much has been different from the day in, day out routine of years past. Mike McCarthy is nothing if not a creature of habit. He’s used pretty much the same in-season schedule that he’s used his entire six years as the Packers’ head coach. That means practices are about the same length, meetings last about the same amount of time, his media schedule is exactly the same. As for the players, locker room access is about the same. The same players you used to see in the locker room on a daily basis are still usually in there regularly. The same ones who almost never were in there are still almost never in there. About the only difference in media access is that the offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators are no longer available after games. Instead, we get them the day after games. What’s more is that McCarthy himself seems about the same. I’ve gotten no sense that success has gone to his head. Don’t get me wrong, he has an ego, and he’ll admit to that. But as far as NFL head coaches go, he’s the most like a “regular guy” as any of the four head coaches (Mike Holmgren, Ray Rhodes, Mike Sherman and McCarthy) I’ve covered in my tenure with the Press-Gazette.

2. Many Patriot and Colt players over the years have discussed the  
pressure of an unbeaten season.  The extra questions, the extra media  
attention, and the added pressure of not just watching the standings,  
but having a higher threshold to uphold.  Have you seen any changes as  
the season has progressed, and how do you think the team will handle it?

So far, it seems like they’re fine with it. This week, there’s been more national media at Lambeau Field than I think I’ve seen all season. And of course, the number one topic among them has been 16-0. I don’t think McCarthy has told his players to avoid the topic, at least not based on what Clay Matthews said on Wednesday. Though he seemed to purposely not mention the phrase “16-0,” Matthews did say this: “We’re embracing it. We’re not shying away from it. The fact is we’ve been able to stay undefeated for a little while now. We have to take it 12-0 in order to get to what you were saying. We’ll try and go 12-0 this week against a good New York team and take it from there and then hopefully take it game by game and work towards our ultimate goal.” (more…)