McCarthy: A lot of good things to build off of, learn from

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy spoke with reporters following his team's 31-23 victory over the Chicago Bears. Here are some highlights:

Opening statement:

Playing in this game is always a huge challenge, but to start the season with a division win going against your rival is obviously of importance, but it also states the fact that this is our starting point. This is who we are as a team today. A lot of good things to build off of, learn from.

Offensively, the plan coming down here was establishing the run and the pass. I thought the offense accomplished that. Aaron (Rodgers) and Tom Clements did an excellent job accomplishing that. Aaron did a really good job establishing at the line of scrimmage.

Defensively, the run defense was a bit of an issue at the beginning. I come in here with a lot of respect for Matt Forte, and he obviously played really well in the first half. We'll definitely have some things to learn from there on defense.

The penalties, we had no excuse for that, we've got to get rid of that and the fact that we needed to take the ball away. The importance of taking away the football in the second half was going to be a deciding factor, and Clay Matthews coming up with the play and the defense with the fourth down stop were huge plays. That was definitely the turning point in the game.

On Rodgers and James Jones:

Just knowing Aaron Rodgers and their relationship, if I were a betting man, I would've bet the ball was going to him today. James looks like he never left, he's in playing shape. Aaron and JJ have a connection as far as timing and so forth. I'm not surprised at all. JJ was able to step in and play.

What did you look for the defense to adjust against the run?

Just really looking to handle their outside zone. They were getting on their tips too much. We had to clean up the penalties, but I definitely think our run defense improved in the second half.

On the Packers vs. Bears rivalry:

I love working in Green Bay. This is a great rivalry and it's a privilege to be a part of this. I'm just thankful I'm still doing it.

On Julius Peppers:

Father time is treating him well. Julius is playing very well, he's the same guy everyday. With his preparation, he doesn't surprise me with how well he does.

On James Jones being ready:

It says a lot to James. James is a pro, he's a man who puts in a lot of extra hours. He's a sneaky preparation guy. He doesn't really want you knowing he's down there doing it, but he puts in a lot of extra time.

On Clay Matthews' INT:

Clay Matthews is obviously a terrific talent. I thought he was going to score. If he keeps cutting back like that, we might have to get him on offense. That was a big time play we needed, it changed the game.

On Ty Montgomery at KR:

I thought Ty Montgomery was excellent today. He made great decisions on when to bring the ball out the end zone. I thought the blocking unit did a really good job. Not only did Ty make good decisions and ran his track and hit it, I thought the second effort by our special teams looked to be pretty darn good. 

I think special teams did a lot of good things today. Our return game was really good. I thought our guys played well.