Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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There's no telling yet whether any will be available for Thursday night out west, where quarterback Aaron Rodgers said the team needs to "exorcise some of those negative feelings" from 2019. But at some point the reinforcements are coming on that side of the ball.
"I love the effort that Jamaal's given us the last two weeks, but we're a better team when we're at full strength and having '33' and '13' back would be big jumps," Rodgers said, referring to Jones' and Lazard's jersey numbers.
"When we're at full strength, we're really tough I think."
The Packers need to clean up the penalties, though this was the first game those had really been a factor this season, and LaFleur said referee Alex Kemp's crew is among the most flag-happy in the league. They should have known to play more disciplined.
LaFleur also stressed the need for the defense to create some turnovers, and for the entire team to raise its energy level. Those two could go hand-in-hand, but turnovers mostly come from forcing the opponent to throw and getting after the quarterback, which won't happen unless the defense stops the run, so it's all intertwined.
"I do think the juice, if you will, of our football team isn't where it needed to be," LaFleur said. "You have to bring your own energy. Guys have got to dig deep sometimes to bring that out.
"We need to find the guys that are going to step up and be the leaders and be the people that are going to bring that positive energy to our football team, because if you don't have it, you just aren't going to be at your best. That's not an excuse, that's just reality."