Two veterans and a newcomer earn the captain ‘C’

In another break from Mike McCarthy’s way of running the team, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur had his team vote for permanent captains for this season.

The winners? Aaron Rodgers on offense, Za’Darius Smith on defense and Mason Crosby on special teams.

That Rodgers and Crosby were voted captains is no surprise. Rodgers is in his 15th season with the team and is the unquestioned leader of the team. Crosby is in his 13th season on the team and is the clear veteran of a special-teams group that is young.

“Mason’s our guy and excited about him and the level of experience that he brings and the veteran leadership,” special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga said before the Chicago game. “Kicking here in Green Bay and in Chicago in some tough weather conditions is invaluable. Just the leadership he brings for the specialists and to the team, he’s one of the leaders on the team.”

Za’Darius Smith, on the other hand, is a newcomer to the roster and a full-time starter for the first time in his career. In his fifth year in the league, Smith was one of the Packers’ prized offseason acquisitions. While he doesn’t have the tenure of a Tramon Williams or even Blake Martinez and Kenny Clark, his personality has struck a chord with his new teammates. Combining personality with performance, it's evident why GM Brian Gutekunst gave Smith a four-year $66 million contract in free agency.

“I think it says a lot about him,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I think his teammates respect him. I think he’s about the right stuff. He cares about his teammates. He tries to get them together to do things and he brings it every day in practice. He does a great job.”

Rodgers pointed to the “charismatic” leadership that Smith brings to the defense – something that unit had lacked, in Rodgers’ opinion.

Video: Matt LaFleur on state of the offense through two games

Before the Chicago game, Smith gathered the defense and sent a message.

“I told everybody, ‘Control what you can control. God gave everybody a gift and a talent to come out here and do something that we love,’” Smith said after the 10-3 victory.

During his time in Baltimore, Smith watched and learned from Terrell Suggs, who had 34.5 more sacks than any other active defender at the start of the season. Suggs wasn’t just a dynamic defender for the Ravens. He was the team’s emotional leader, too.

“Man, just the leadership – doing the little things right in the film room, in the weight room, everywhere,” Smith said. “He’s a character, now. For you to be down in one situation and for him to come in the room and light up the room is another thing that I learned from him. Football, it’s take advantage of your opportunities with your iPad. That’s something that he said that they didn’t have back in the day. To have that now, you get to take it home and learn your mistakes – every little mistake – and learn from other guys that you’re trying to key in on tendencies. That’s another thing that I learned from him. To be able to learn all those great things from him, it’s just great that I had the opportunity to be around him.”

As permanent captains, they are wearing a “C” on their jersey. That insignia made its debut against the Vikings.

In past seasons, McCarthy had game-by-game captains – the Packers are doing that, as well – but had permanent captains for the playoffs. Rodgers was voted a captain for all eight of his playoff season and Crosby was a five-time playoff captain.

Against Minnesota, LaFleur selected tight end Jimmy Graham on offense, linebacker Blake Martinez on defense, and punter JK Scott on special teams. Against Chicago, receiver Davante Adams and safety Adrian Amos joined Rodgers, Crosby and Smith as captains.

“The one thing I’ll say about this team is I feel like we’ve got a lot of good leaders,” LaFleur said.

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