There's been plenty of doom and gloom coming out of Green Bay in the wake of a Week 1 meltdown against a division rival in Minnesota, but that doesn't mean the Packers won't bounce back and learn from their mistakes in the next one. At least, that's the sentiment that was shared by wide receiver Jayden Reed when asked about the team's morale heading into Week 2 against the New York Jets.
Here's what Reed had to say when he was asked about how the team is feeling in practice this week:
"It feels great, man... we go out there together and put the work in. Nobody else does that. I mean, everybody can say whatever, man, but you know, we put blood, sweat, and tears in, and it hurt us worse than anything when we don't get the job done because we put the work in, so we're just hard on ourselves as a team to get better."
To hear that coming from a player whose role was diminished in the first week of the season is massively encouraging. If Jayden Reed can approach the team's upcoming visit to MetLife Stadium this way after catching just three of seven targets for 20 yards, then anyone within that locker room should be able to shed their egos, face the reality of the situation, and focus on executing in Game 2.
The Green Bay Packers shot themselves in the foot in Week 1, but they're not likely to let that happen twice in a row.
Head coach Matt LaFleur has come under fire this week for his team's dreadful collapse against the Vikings, but that isn't the end of his story in Green Bay. From LaFleur to his coordinators, the wide receivers to the offensive line, defensive backs to the front line, and everyone in between, a loss like the one they suffered in their debut game can be galvanizing.
Not to be crass, but sometimes you need to get your a** kicked to wake up and lock in. That seems to be the perspective the Green Bay Packers' locker room as a whole is sharing coming out of this loss, as players up and down the roster take accountability for their faults. There's no denying that LaFleur, his coaching staff, and the players themselves watched their film back and felt awful about their second-half performance.
Sure, this team has some injuries and lost a few key players in the offseason, but they've entered this season with the mentality that despite those factors, they can go all the way this year. They're not going to allow one loss to a team that, frankly, has had their number for the better part of the 2020s to throw them off course from that ultimate goal.
So, like Jayden Reed said, these guys are hurting after that Week 1 loss, and they don't want to experience anything like that again for the rest of the season. They just need to prove it to themselves, and in the process, they'll prove it to Green Bay Packers fans and the NFL world, too.
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