GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -Twice in the wake of the Green Bay Packers’ embarrassing home loss to Cincinnati, quarterback Aaron Rodgers has gone out of his way to mention veteran cornerback Charles Woodson as someone to look to for inspiration.
Asked to point out one bright spot from an otherwise awful performance, the only thing that popped into the mind of Packers coach Mike McCarthy was Woodson.
If not for Woodson’s two interceptions on Sunday, directly resulting in one touchdown and setting up another, the Bengals might very well have blown out the Packers.
“We need to have 11 guys on defense and 11 guys on offense playing and wanting it as badly as Charles does,” Rodgers said. “We need to follow his example.”
Woodson will turn 33 next month, an age where many top-level cornerbacks are showing diminished skills, have switched to safety or are out of the league. But as Woodson showed again last Sunday, he remains one of the NFL’s biggest playmakers.
to him,” Rodgers said. “I’m not surprised – I’m impressed.”
With Cincinnati facing second-and-18 at its own 33-yard line, Woodson lined up over the Bengals’ slot receiver. He appeared to be playing man-to-man coverage but actually was in zone – something he’ll do more often in the 3-4 scheme of first-year Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers, a change he embraced.
Palmer tried to get the ball to tight end Daniel Coats but Woodson broke on the pass, grabbed it and ran in for a score.
“I guess he tried to look me off and didn’t think maybe I could get there, and he let it go,” Woodson said. “Of course, my eyes got big, and I scored.”
Said Palmer: “I didn’t see the guy until it was too late.”
It was just another example of the consistent play Woodson has shown since he came to Green Bay in 2006 – a rare high-profile free agent signing by usually conservative Packers general manager Ted Thompson.
Woodson, the 1997 Heisman Trophy winner at Michigan, had 17 interceptions and two touchdowns over his first eight seasons in Oakland. Since coming to Green Bay, he has 21 interceptions and five touchdowns.
Woodson was in no mood to pat himself on the back after Sunday’s game. Instead of celebrating his two interceptions, he was beating himself up about the touchdown Laveranues Coles scored on the Bengals’ first drive of the game.
ng else I could’ve done,” Woodson said. “I look at the touchdown to Laveranues, that’s really my fault. I thought we had a double on him, and I let him go to the inside. That’s my fault. So I give up six points there. We spot them six, in my eyes. And that’s my fault.”
Rodgers said Woodson’s work habits and workout program – things he wasn’t exactly known for in Oakland – are often-overlooked keys to his success.
“He’s a guy I know personally was in here in January and February working out when nobody else was here,” Rodgers said. “The way he takes care of his body in the weight room, the way he practices. His film study is really underrated and maybe not talked about enough. He watches so much film, understands the game. Him and Al (Harris) are so instinctual, so intelligent on the field, they can often tell routes by the way guys line up.
“Having those two guys out there to lead the younger guys and bring them along is a huge asset for our team.”
The loss to Cincinnati was a significant step backward for the Packers, picked by some as a potential Super Bowl contender. Not only did they lose at home to a team they expected to beat, but left tackle Chad Clifton and starting safety Nick Collins were injured.
Green Bay plays at St. Louis this weekend.
“It ain’t no time to cry for this team now,” Woodson warned. “We’ve got to go out and play football, whoever’s in there has got to step it up and play at the level that the rest of the team expects ’em to play at.”
And while the Packers certainly have some work to do, Woodson said there’s no reason to panic.
“It just shows you that you’re not exactly where you thought you were,” Woodson said. “Of course, we still have the players in this room to get it done. But obviously, we’re not where we want to be.”
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