Two guys who were hardly on the field for the Green Bay Packers on Sunday were credited with getting things back on track at halftime.
Linebacker Jamari Lattimore, who the Packers sit in favor of the awful duo of Brad Jones and A.J. Hawk, and defensive end Johnny Jolly, who injured his shoulder in the first half and didn’t return, were the vocal leaders in the locker room.
“Jolly had a lot to say,” Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji. “He was talking about how, ‘Just keep playing, keep fighting.’
“And actually Jamari Lattimore really spoke from the heart, got real emotional. I think the guys really felt them on that.”
The Packers were down 26-3 at the time and of course would storm back to win 37-36, which ties them for the biggest comeback in team history.
You would think a guy like Clay Matthews or Hawk would be the ones giving impassioned halftime speeches. Well, you’d be wrong. Neither of those guys has exhibited any leadership characteristics.
In fact, this Packers defense has been pretty much leaderless since Charles Woodson left the building.
So, the task falls to Jolly and Lattimore. The Packers need to re-sign Jolly after the season and maybe they should think about putting Lattimore back on the field.