The following is the Q&A after Sunday night's 21-15 victory over the Chicago Bears in the season-opener:
Q. What was your impression of the blitz package defensive coordinator Dom Capers used and what did you think was effective and not so effective?
A. It made me think I wish I was still playing. That would be a lot of fun. Tramon Williams got a chance to blitz, (Charles) Woodson got a chance to blitz. I thought the game showed that Brandon Chillar can play all four linebacker spots, Clay Matthews looked active, A.J. Hawk looked active. I'd like to see a little more of Desmond Bishop, but, man, that is one of the most exciting linebacker groups here in a long time. They just don't sit back anymore. The last couple of years it was a sit-back, passive kind of defense, reacting to the quarterback. This defense gives you a lot of different looks. It was very exciting. They looked like they were having fun. In talking to these guys after the game, everybody kept saying there was a trust there. If I'm in my gap, the other guy is going to be where he is supposed to be. In years past, they didn't necessarily trust each other with the defense, so another guy would try to do too much. Next thing you know everything got out of whack. These guys trust each other.
Q. Which of the defensive pressures the Chicago Bears used do you think bothered the Packers the most?
A. It's kind of hard to see which pressures bothered them the most when the Bears got so much pressure out of their left end over the right tackle, Allen Barbre. It basically took Jermichael Finley out of the game plan because he had to go over there and help chip and help block. He's a weapon. That neutralized him because he couldn't get where he had to get. But the one that seemed to give the Packers the most trouble is when you bring a safety up, like they did with (Danieal) Manning. They brought the safety up outside, disguised him, and in the last second blitzed him outside. That seemed to give them trouble. But then again, any pressure from the right outside gave them problems. It can be fixed, but you can't waste Finley. He's a weapon, he needs to be down the field with the matchups we like and the four-wide receiver set, almost like a five-wide, but he's the fifth wide receiver. He's the matchup they like, especially in the red zone. They couldn't do it. So at some point they have to shore up that right side.
Q. Would you bench Barbre this early in the season or do you think you have to give him another week to prove himself?
A. Well, I would like to think you give him one more week of practice and one more game. You like to say that guys have bad games and you have to give them a chance to respond and bounce back. If that doesn't happen, you look to make changes or you just look to give him help in certain situations. Sometimes he played pretty good. It just seemed like the times they needed maximum protection he was fine, but the times he was one-on-one he got a little overextended. He just has to make sure he keeps his feet underneath and make sure he gets stronger at the point of attack. He shouldn't be getting thrown to the ground. That's why he has to get his base better and don't guess what the defensive guy is going to do. React to what he's going to do.
Q. The difference in this game was that Bears quarterback Jay Cutler took whatever chances he needed to take to win whereas Aaron Rodgers didn't take many chances. Is that a sign of immaturity vs. maturity or a sign that you're dealing with two completely different quarterbacks and the way they approach the game?
A. I think it's a sign of patience and impatience. Cutler got a little impatient at times and tried to get back all at once with one throw and Rodgers was just patient, patient and patient, waiting for his opportunity, the last throw to Greg Jennings. 'When I get an opportunity, I won't miss this time.' So he was just waiting for his opportunity to bounce back after missing a couple of receivers. The one thing he didn't do when he was getting sacked was do too much with the ball and turn it over. It was like, take your medicine. 'OK, they sacked me, I can line up again, I can start over.' Too many times a young quarterback tries to avoid the sack and either fumbles the ball or throws an interception.
Q. After seeing the Packers, Bears and Vikings play this weekend, what is your impression of the NFC North? Do you think the division is as good as some people think or do you think it's being oversold?
A. I think it's going to be very competitive. It may be a situation where Green Bay, Chicago and Minnesota may all win 10 games. But my opinion hasn't changed. The Packers are the most talented team in the division and should win the division. They have less questions. The Vikings have the best player in the division, Adrian Peterson, but the most talented team is the Packers. I think the Bears played a lot better than what I thought they would defensively. I didn't think their secondary would hold up as well as it did. I think the Bears are going to be a lot better team than people think. It's going to be a fun year this year.