Days away from his second regular-season opener with the Green & White, quarterback Aaron Rodgers said on Thursday that he might take stock after the fourth play at San Francisco on Monday night to reflect ... for a nanosecond.
"Yeah. I mean, there might be a little smirk after the fourth one," Rodgers told reporters on Thursday. "I'm sure they'll catch it, but I'm going to get in my mind space. You know, I really had a year to remember in a lot of ways, some really difficult things with some great things as well. So, there's always a perspective moment during the anthem to collect your thoughts and kind of send gratitude out to the universe for the opportunity to stand on the field in pads. So, I'll be really excited about that."
Asked if he thinks he has anything to prove, Rodgers said: "I think you always have something to prove. It just kind of changes who you're proving that to."
The four-time NFL MVP is coming back after tearing an Achilles tendon on the Jets' first offensive series last season. He's confident in his ability, and his coach is confident in his quarterback.
"I think he's in a great place," Robert Saleh said. "I think not just mentally, physically he looks awesome. I think he's been prepared and prepared himself if he continues to stay focused, which he will. He's not a 40-year-old quarterback."
Over his career as a starter in the NFL, since the 2008 season with Green Bay (and excluding last season), Rodgers has taken his team to a 10-5 record to open the regular season. That includes consecutive Week 1 losses to the 49ers in 2012 and 2013 (at San Francisco).
"[Former Packers HC] Mike McCarthy came in years ago and said what seemed to be a wild statement at the time," Rodgers said. "In 2006 he said, our biggest difficulty is going to be handling success. And as the years went on, I realized how important those words are. You know, we were 8-8 his first year, then the second year went to the NFC championship [game]. I think what he meant was you just can't ride the highs. If you get too high and then the whole world's crashing down after a tough game."
For his part, Saleh called Rodgers "the ultimate teammate," a guy who has been a winner throughout his NFL career and has not been shy about sprinkling his often-magical approach to leadership and accountability throughout the locker room and on the field.
"'I've been a part of a lot of wins over the years, so I know what that feels like," Rodgers said. "It's a great feeling. But once the game's over, it's over. After the media and the film sessions, on to the next so we have to really have a good mindset. I think it starts with the preparation. We can't have overreactions every single week, whether it's great or whether it's bad. Consistently throughout my career, the film is never as good as it felt on the field and never as bad as it felt on the field. So, we can't ride these waves of emotion or frustration or outside narratives or any of these things. We got to keep this thing very tight. We can't have any leaks or people jumping ship. We got to realize it's going to be a long season."
