“I’ve been really confident the entire time. Even in Tennessee, I didn’t really get those reps during the week of the games I started,” Willis said. “It was more walkthrough reps and times where we thought (Ryan) Tannehill would still go. Just like this week, you have to prepare just in case the starter isn’t gonna go. But more than anything, I tried to push that to the side and just continue to work each day and get those reps against guys on the scout team. You just continue to build and build, learn from things, wait for an opportunity to go out there and prove it.”
Special perspective
Malik Willis was effective, but it’s evident that the Packers made a specific gameplan to protect him. The Packers ran the ball more than 50 times, and the quarterback threw the ball on 14 plays. The quarterback doesn’t care, because it ultimately helped the team win.
“It’s either win or lose,” Willis added. “You can say what you want to, you can just control the flow of the game, and the flow of the game said we were running the ball today, and we’re gonna be successful running the ball. Would you not run the ball to prove somebody wrong? It’s just what it is.”
Imagine how difficult everything was for him. Willis had to move from Nashville to Green Bay, meet his new teammates and coaches, learn a new offense, and play in less than three weeks. That’s how life works in the NFL sometimes, but head coach Matt LaFleur praised Willis’ attitude to put everything together.
“I don’t think you guys can appreciate or even comprehend the task that Malik Willis had. I mean, this guy got here three weeks ago,” LaFleur stressed. “And for him to be able to go out there and command our offense. We had a lot of long calls, we had shifts, motions, a ton of different run schemes. There was a lot put on his plate. And for him to be able to go out there and do what he did today, that speaks volumes of who he is as a person and the work he’s put in. Just super proud of him.”
The Packers still don’t know exactly if Malik Willis will have to start another game, or how many. Ian Rapoport, from NFL Network, said Love is eyeing a week 5 return against the Los Angeles Rams, meaning that Willis would start two more games, against the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings.
They might have different gameplans, different approaches. But Malik Willis is willing to do everything the coaching staff asks him to, because the team is ultimately what puts him in position to win games and keep playing in the league after a tough stint with the Titans over the last three years.
“With Jordan out, we just had to come together,” Willis pointed out. “I wouldn’t say I’m proud. I’m more blessed than anything. Just grateful for God to give me another opportunity somewhere different, a clean slate, to give me the opportunity to be around guys who would help me.”
Played with poise for having to learn a new system and very little practice, wasn’t asked to do much, but didn’t make any mistakes either. Good Job.
JustMe
09-16
Yah first let’s see what happens when he actually faces a real football team ie: Vikings, lions, Texans, San Fran etc. Beating the absolutely terrible colts by only 6 points in your home opener, not impressed!
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