Packers safety Josh Jones on Clubhouse Live: 'Every game is critical'

Brett Christopherson
Appleton Post-Crescent

Green Bay Packers safety Josh Jones co-hosted Monday's Clubhouse Live, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin’s live weekly football show. Packers rookie linebacker James Crawford was Jones’ guest.

Among the topics they touched on were the locker room vibe, playing football for a living, seeking an identity, Mike McCarthy and Charles Woodson. The show can be seen live at The Clubhouse Sports Pub & Grill in downtown Appleton or at clubhouselive.com.

Here are select and edited answers from the interview:

Green Bay Packers safety Josh Jones co-hosted Monday's Clubhouse Live in Appleton. Jones' guest was Packers rookie linebacker James Crawford.

WATCH:  Clubhouse Live with Josh Jones and James Crawford

Q: Thursday's loss to Seattle was another instance in which you had a chance to win a big game on the road, only to fall short again. What's the locker room mood like these days?

Jones: Just getting better, man. That's it. That's the only thing you can do when you're sitting at a record that's under .500. Just get better knowing that we have six more games left, knowing that we have to go out here (and) every game is critical. It's no time to be starting slow and not finishing. We have to hit all three phases — special teams, offense and defense — and eliminate those mistakes that we made earlier in the season. We shouldn't be making those mistakes that we've been making this late in the season.

Q: Are guys frustrated, or do you feel like the energy is still good?

Jones: Great energy, great energy. When you get a chance to wake up and do something that you love — come on man — the energy has got to be great. We wake up and we go to work and we don't have to put on a suit and tie. We get to hang out with our teammates and just play ball. 

Q: Are you — collectively — still trying to figure out the identity of the 2018 Green Bay Packers? 

Jones: You can't really find an identity when there's so much inconsistency. ... There's no consistency with us. But once we get that — that's all we need is something to make us click. Once we get that, the ball will be rolling. And we'll be fine.

Q: There has been a lot of social media noise calling for Mike McCarthy's removal as head coach. And there have been reports suggesting his job security could be in doubt. Is that kind of talk distracting to the players? If so, how do you block it out and keep focused on what's ahead?

Jones: I'm not going to speak on anybody's job. I'm not going to speak on Coach McCarthy. Coach McCarthy is and has been a successful coach in this business. His track record says that. But as far as what you see and what people put out there, let's be honest — half of that stuff, 95, 99 percent of that stuff you read out there is not true. It's from a source — somebody that has no credibility, somebody that probably never played a snap in their life. So on the outside looking in, it's easy to judge. But once you're in between those walls in Lambeau Field, we know who we have, we know the coaches that we have, we know the players that we have.

And I understand that as people on the outside, you have your opinions. You can have all the opinions in the world. But you can't let articles and blogs and things that people say on Twitter, or comments, affect you. Because once you let those things creep into your head, then those things, those thoughts, become reality. ... So just block out all the negativity, block out the noise, put on the earmuffs and move forward. 

Q: You are the nephew of former Packers great and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson. What role has he played in helping you carve your own NFL career? Has it been a challenge in any way to follow in his footsteps?

Crawford: Having Charles in my corner was actually a blessing because it's somebody you could always go to and learn more football, learn how to break down film and things like such. So I don't see it as I had to live up to his stature because that's kind of hard. But I took it as a challenge to be as close to him as I could be.