Packers count on rookie’s passion in secondary
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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Before playing his first NFL game, Green Bay Packers cornerback Brandon Cisse wanted to learn more about the best players at his position.
So the rookie second-round pick from South Carolina reached out to his new coach for feedback. Cisse wanted Matt LaFleur to tell him about the best cornerbacks he’d seen and what set them apart.
“That’s just kind of what I wanted to do this summer,” Cisse said. “My summer study was kind of just trying to get the top five to eight corners in the league and try to break down their top clips or see things that they got beat on that will probably come up schematically -- guys who kind of play in similar defenses.”
LaFleur related that story this week while complimenting Cisse’s passion for the game and calling him a “football junkie.”
“This guy, he lives and dies football,” LaFleur said.
The Packers need Cisse to be a quick study.
He’s expected to get a starting assignment when the Packers open their season Sunday at Minnesota. That means Cisse could spend at least part of his debut lining up against Justin Jefferson, the Vikings’ two-time All-Pro receiver.
Packers coaches believe Cisse’s mentality can help him survive getting thrown into the deep end right away.
“Especially at that position in my opinion, there’s going to be a learning process of how you deal with failure,” defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said. “Not to say that he’s going to fail but they are going to catch balls on him if he’s out there playing. That happens to everybody. It’s how you respond to that. ... I know he’s wired the right way to be able to play the next play and get up and line up and execute.”
Packers cornerback Brandon Cisse runs a tackling drill during practice at the team’s training camp on July 30 in Green Bay, Wis. (AP file photo)
Backing Jacobs
LaFleur said Friday that he doesn’t feel differently about Josh Jacobs after the running back pleaded no contest a day earlier to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property. The charges stemmed from a May altercation Jacobs had with his girlfriend.
“I know the guy and I know the character of the guy,” LaFleur said. “I’ve said that many times.”
LaFleur had said last week that “I believe him and I trust him” while adding that “I’m going to do that until proven otherwise.”
LaFleur said he hadn’t heard anything from the league regarding how it might respond to this development. After the charges against Jacobs were filed, the NFL placed him on the commissioner’s exempt list, which prevents him from playing or practicing but allows him to keep receiving a paycheck.