Gannett Wisconsin Media’s Brett Christopherson caught up with Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb, who shared his thoughts on Sunday’s 30-13 victory over the Minnesota Vikings:

What did Sunday’s win over the Vikings tell you about your team? Did you learn anything about yourselves?

RC: I think it’s just the heart of this team. We all have so much pride in what we do. We take responsibility for our actions, our losses, our defeats. We looked ourselves in the mirror — all of us individually — and said we need to be better. It didn’t go right the next week. It didn’t go right the week after that. But we continued to work, and we persevered through that rough time. And to come out with a win — a huge win — to get back on top of the division was big for us.

Did you feel like the roles were reversed going into that game? Did you feel like you were the hunters for a change and not the hunted? And if so, did that shift in mindset allow you to play loose?

RC: I think a lot of people had given up on us. A lot of people thought that we were in turmoil and we weren’t going to be able to turn it around. We just stuck together. We believed in each other. We believed in our coaching staff. And we were able to get it done.

Eddie Lacy rushed for 100 yards on 22 carries in Sunday’s win, and the Packers finished with 134 rushing yards on 34 attempts overall. How important was it for the offense to get Lacy and that rushing attack going again?

RC: That was huge. That balance for us as an offense is huge. Being able to press the tempo, being able to pick up first downs on the ground, being able to put us in very manageable third downs, it made it a lot easier on our offense. So that was huge for us to be able to have him have the performance he did.

Wide receiver Jeff Janis had a big impact in the game, returning a kickoff 70 yards that led to a field goal and later drawing a 50-yard pass interference penalty that led to a touchdown at the end of the first half, which gave the Packers a 16-6 lead. How close is Janis to becoming a major contributor? What needs to happen before we see him on the field on a regular basis?

RC: Obviously in the return game, I think that’s going to be huge — being able to use his speed. Offensively, we’ve got to find a way to get him on the field more — being able to use his speed in different ways. He’s definitely a great player, and I think he’s going to be a great addition to us the more we move forward down the road. Being able to put him in and trust in him.

We hear a lot about the timing between a quarterback and a receiver. What does it take for that connection to happen? Is it more complicated than we know?

RC: There’s a whole lot that goes into it. I think first thing that is the biggest impact is the communication — being able to have the communication off the field and in the meeting rooms. Because you’re not always going to have those opportunities in practice. Whenever we’re doing different drills in practice or going through our no-huddle set, usually it’s the first three receivers that see him, so it’s hard to build that trust with Aaron (Rodgers). So being able to do it through communication in meetings. And then once you get to practice, when you do get those opportunities, being able to talk through different things. And then once you get into a game situation, being able to make the play in those situations, or go back to something that he told you two or three weeks ago and being able to remember that moment. It's a huge trust-builder for Aaron.


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