PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Aaron Rodgers addressed a number of issues and topics Wednesday as the Steelers, losers of five of seven, play for first place Sunday at Baltimore. Everything from his health to receiver meetings, to the new receiver and going downfield were addressed in his weekly news conference.
Wrist update
Rodgers did not practice on Wednesday, but generally it seems the broken wrist is improving.
“I love to practice, so I hate missing practice, but dealing with what I'm dealing with, it helps to get another day without any pounding on the bones in there,” Rodgers said. “So we'll see what happens. I'd love to be able to be under center. That'll probably be a later in the week decision.”
“I didn't come out of the game any worse for wear, so the healing process has continued and we'll see what happens as far as the type of cast I use come Sunday.”
Thielen Good
35-year-old receiver Adam Thielen went through his first practice with the Steelers Wednesday.
“He said this the best his body has felt 'cause he hasn't been playing a whole lot, you know, in Minnesota,” Rodgers said. “So, I think he's got a lot left in the tank and a lot of a lot of impetus to go out there and put some good play on film.”
Not freakin’
The 42-year-old doesn’t believe there is any anxiety in the locker room. They are confident they can still turn this around.
“I don't feel like this team has a freak out or a panic that that I need to like send a message out to the to the zeitgeist that everybody needs to just relax a little bit,” Rodgers said. “We've been playing inconsistent football, that's for sure. Gotta play better. But I have confidence in leadership of the team, I've confidence in my guys and that we're gonna put a better performance on the field this weekend.”
Going Downfield
Asked about completing more passes downfield.
“I mean there hasn't been a ton of opportunities, there hasn't been a ton of open guys,” Rodgers said. “It just comes down to release, having a plan to release. Proper depth, proper timing. You know, we've tried some different things with wide outs and it's just about having a plan, plans for understanding when to be open and the time when to be trying. But I see improvement from those guys that just haven't consistently.”
WR meeting
Interpreted to mean a player or maybe more were missing meetings, Rodgers cleared up what he said after the game on Sunday.
“What I was talking about was during the week, you know, we have our meetings on Thursdays and I meant that everybody come there with an open mind and be self-critical and work on the things you gotta work on and let's get better.”
Freiermuth
Last year the number one tight end, Pat Freiermuth had no catches or targets against the Bills. He hasn’t had more than 33 yards receiving since October 16.
“You know, some of it is just his play count, so that's above my pay grade,” Rodgers said. “But you know, the more opportunities that he's gotten in certain games he's had some big games for us. I felt like after Cincinnati he was kind of getting going. You know, but Darnell has also been playing exceptionally well, so it's hard to try to take Darnell off the field. You know, he's been so good, but I'd love to see more opportunities for Pat.”
Bright side
“I think from a foundational standpoint to be playing meaningful games in December is special and we need to embrace that,” Rodgers said. “It’s a great environment over there. They've won five out of six. So they've obviously been playing better this last stretch and anything can happen in a division game this is for control of the division in the short term. Obviously, there's four more games after this, but this is a big one for us.”