Philbin expects Packers' best in Week 16: 'Football players are paid to play'

Green Bay Packers interim head coach Joe Philbin is expecting his team's best in Week 16 despite the fact that they were eliminated from postseason contention with Sunday's loss to the rival Chicago Bears.

"In the general sense, my philosophy is football players are paid to play football games, and football coaches are paid to coach football games, so obviously we have to go through the week and we would never put any player out there that wasn't physically ready to go," Philbin said, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.

"But that's my general philosophy and overall philosophy whether it's Aaron Rodgers or anybody else. We're the Green Bay Packers, we're a football team and we're in the business of winning football games, and we want all our players who are healthy to contribute to the overall success of the team. Period."

Rodgers didn't miss a snap in Week 15, though he admitted after the loss that he was "bothered" by a groin injury suffered at the end of the first half. Green Bay fell to 5-8-1 on the season and won't be in the playoffs for the second consecutive campaign.

The Packers will be looking for their first road win of the year when they visit the 4-10 New York Jets on Sunday. Philbin says that all his players will continue to be held to a high standard.

"Again, I think it's bigger than Aaron Rodgers. This is a football team. You're a football player. You're employed by the Green Bay Packers just like if players or coaches were to say, 'Geez I'd like to go home tonight and not prepare as hard for this game because we're not going to the playoffs,' I mean, that's not a professional approach to the job, I don't think."

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