The Green Bay Packers are one of the hottest teams in the NFL after two weeks of play, as the trade for Micah Parsons already looks to be paying dividends for the NFC North leader.
While there are still 14 more games left to be played before postseason football begins, there is no shortage of confidence in Green Bay's locker room. This became even more evident this week when starting left tackle Rasheed Walker boldly proclaimed that the Packers could go undefeated this season.
"And if the goal is to keep it going, then I think we can go undefeated, honestly," Walker stated, via Dave Schroder of WBAY-TV. "I mean, personally, I also tell people that we could have gone undefeated the past two seasons. We lost a lot of the games off a couple plays, but I feel like our offense has been playing so good and so disciplined, and our defense is playing even better. Pound for pound, I look at these teams and I don't really see who is better than us."
Parsons Passionately Defends Walker After "Undefeated" Comments
Naturally, those comments made waves throughout the football world as opposing fans were critical of the claim, while fans in Wisconsin worried about whether his words would jinx the team moving forward. One person who has no such concerns is All-Pro edge rusher Parsons, as he passionately defended Walker's comments while speaking with the media on Friday.
“To the people, he probably shouldn't say it," Parsons stated, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. "But personally, I don't see anything wrong what he said. They always say you should share your dreams in private because people won't understand ‘em.
"So, you know, to me. You're exactly right. To a million fans out there, you know, they're probably like 'Sheed's full of himself.' You know how people are. Who gives a f***, though? As long as he plays the way he should play and been playing, I don't care what he says as long as he backs it up."
"So, Sheed, keep talking if you want. Just be careful what other people are going to say if you care about it. If you like me, I don't really care about what people say. We should win every game. That's the mindset we should have. That's the mindset I want my left tackle to have. Is that pound for pound, he feels like he can compete with the best because we're going to play some dogs, and he's got one this week. So, you know, it's going to be a challenge for him, and you should want your left tackle to have that type of confidence."
While his response was a bit long-winded, this is the type of leadership within the locker room Parsons should provide. If Walker believes in this team that strongly, why should he keep those thoughts to himself? Obviously, as Parsons noted, the backlash is easier to deal with when you can simply tune it out. Knowing his star teammate has his back publicly like this has to be reassuring for Walker, though.
With a matchup against Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett on the horizon, Walker will be depended upon to put his best foot forward in order to prevent Jordan Love from receiving too much pressure in the pocket. This is a task that is easier said than done, but the metrics themselves prove that Green Bay has an elite team.
Not every team is built to carry the weight of such heavy expectations. These Packers, though, despite only having two weeks of success, have the look of a group that will have a strong chance to win every game on their schedule. To do that, you cannot afford to take opponents lightly. This weekend's matchup against the Cleveland Browns will prove whether that is a task that Parsons and company are up for.
More Green Bay Packers News and Rumors: